Everything Depends..........

It has been written that the greatest gift of God is eternal life. I think we can conjecture that the second greatest gift is the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is the comforter, messenger, and teacher that God has given us to lead us through the darkness and back to Him. When we are obedient to Gods commandments we qualify ourselves for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Even though the Savior cannot walk by our side everyday, it is like he is when we follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Because of the supernal gift of the Holy Ghost we have the ability to speak the mind, will, and word of the lord.

I am so grateful for those times that I have been confident that I have listened to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I had an amazing experience during the time I spent serving as a ward Mission Leader. I had been prompted to call an assistant and desired to seriously petition the Lord as toward whom I should call. I was standing in the corner of the chapel and turned to the right and saw someone sitting in the chapel. I heard a voice that wasnt my own say, "call him." I did so, and I still say that calling Cody as the Assistant Ward mission leader was the best thing I ever did. After I was released, Cody was called to take my place. That calling has changed his life, and I am proud to think that I had a small part in that. I know that following the Holy Ghost is what protects us and allows us to bless the lives of others. Elder Lawrence C. Corbridge, while commenting about the mission of the Holy Ghost commented, "It is the power by which the Lord makes Himself manifest unto those who believe in Him. Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Everything depends on that."

I am so grateful that our Savior dies and gave us this wonderful companion to guide, protect, strengthen, and testify to us during out sojourn through mortality. 

The Pains he had to bear

Like everything else in the Mosaic law, the passover feast was pointing to something greater, something more significant. The paschal lamb was pointing the Jews to their Savior, who would in every way save them from those destroying angels of sin and death. For centuries the Jews celebrated this feast as they anticipated their Saviors heroic arrival, which was to be followed by their glorious emancipation from Roman oppression. How dreadful it was that they had "looked beyond the mark" and did not recognize the mission of Jesus of Nazareth.

As the paschal lamb caused the Jews to look forward to the Messiah, the Sacrament of the Lords supper was instituted so you and I could look back and remember our Messiah. Each week we partake of the emblems of that supper and remember that sacrifice the Savior made of his own flesh and blood. We remember that great and last sacrifice that ransomed us from awful fates that sin and death imposed upon the children of men. We remember the portal that Jesus Christ opened, allowing us to re enter the presence of our Heavenly Father. We remember the inexplicable suffering and power of the wine press, Gethsemane. We remember that it was there where he suffered pains, sicknesses, disease, and heartaches of every kind so that he would "know how to succor his people."  We remember his trial. We remember that he was mis judged by the two groups of people who we renowned for their jurisprudence. We remember that his own people chose a false Jesus;they suffered Barabbas to live. We remember the thronging, the crown of thorns, and the haunting journey toward Golgotha. We remember that he was crucified between two thieves and then buried in a rich mans tomb, this only validating Isiah's vision that "he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death." We remember that, in the end, death would have no power of him and that he became "the first fruits of them that slept" as he rose on that resurrection Sunday. 

As you and I remember these things each Sunday we partake of those emblems and renew our pledge to Him, our pledge to always remember Him and keep His commandments. As we do this we not only qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost, but we also renew the blessings of that atonement. Our sins our washed away with each worthy renewal of this covenant. Thanks be to God that he sent us his Son to overcome the malignant vicissitudes  of mortality. Thanks be to the Son that he was perfectly obedient to the will of our Father and protected us from those destroying angels of sin and death. 

Watch and take heed

Weeks like this really make us think that the world has to be coming to an end soon. We certainly see wars, hear rumors of war, and see tempests and Earthquakes worldwide. The chaos in Libya and the destruction that has literally changed Japan forces us to consider the Saviors prophetic statment to the 12, "for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows." Not only does the Savior remind us that these things must be, but that they are only the beginning. Jesus' concern does touch on these natural disasters, however it is centered on our potential to be decieved, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body.

Because God loves and knows of those things that will confront us before his coming, he has mandated that we do two very important things, watch and take heed.

When the Savior implored us to watch I dont think he meant in the same way we watch TV. I think that he meant us to recongize, analyze, anticipate, and look for the digns that will lead to his coming.

As he exhorted us to "take heed of ourselves" I think he wanted us to be self aware, cognisant of our weaknesses and habits. The Savior himself didn't even know when that day of his coming was to be, so he counseled us to watch and pray. I'd like to think he had the Holy Ghost on his mind as he offered that counsel. Certainly he didnt want us perform these tasks alone. The Holy Ghost is to be our guide through these last days of strife and tumult.

An Acceptable offering

The story of the widow's might, as it is called, has always been especially meaningful to me, as I come from a "pay check to pay check" family. In fact, my whole family is inactive, in part, because of money. After we joined the church in 1998 my parents went to the Church for financial assistance. This became a habit as my parents refused to be accountable for the lifestyle. The church eventually withheld assistance, so my parents became offended and left the fellowship of the church. What a stark contrast to the Widow of this story.

The Widows offering was so amazing because she gave everything; she gave her all. She showed that she loved the Lord with all her heart and with all her faith, as she was commanded to. Her sacrifice was more substantial than that of the pharisees because it reflected her willingness to sacrifice all she had to follow the Savior. The Scribes and Pharisees only sacrificed what was convenient. This underscores that their intentions were disingenuous at best. They were only at the treasury to be seen of others. Outwardly they were seemingly magnanimous, but inwardly they were blatantly avaricious.

This story denotes what the Lord considers as an acceptable offering. The Lord doesn't want our money, he wants our faith. He wants all of our faith and not that which is merely convenient. The amount the widow gave was only equal to what we would pay for a loaf of bread, but it was EVERYTHING she had. This Widow understood that if she gave everything the Lord would provide those things that she needed.  This story isn't about paying tithing. This story is trying to teach us the correct manner of sacrifice. Just as the Saviors offering to mankind was complete and infinite, so too must our sacrifice be toward God, complete. Had the Saviors sacrifice been half way we would have been consigned to an "endless torment." Thanks be to God that he sent us his son to show us how to provide an acceptable offering.

Fair is what you pay on a bus

I have four brothers. I feel that saying we caused a lot of trouble is redundant. It was uncommon that when one of us did something wrong we all lost the same privilege for a time. When this happened I would always say to my parents, "thats not fair !" To this my dad would always vehemently respond "fair is what you pay on a bus!" Words will never adequately describe how much I hated when he said that. 

This nostalgic phrase crashes into my memory as I consider the parable of the laborers in Matthew 20. In this parable read about those who don't understand the role they play in Gods Kingdom. The greatest lesson we learn from this parable is that it is not important how long an individual works in the Lord's vineyard, its important that they worked. This idea teaches us that God is a just God, and he judges each of us relative to the knowledge and opportunities we had in this life. Certainly some of us worked longer longer than others but to esteem ourselves above those who worked for a lesser time is to misunderstand God's plan for his children. Christ himself said, the first shall be the last, and the last shall be first. 

The fact that the laborers who worked all day felt that they should be compensated at a higher rate than those who had only worked for half the day or only an hour. The master responds to these murmurings, in effect, "fair is what you pay on a bus." As the Lords servants we don't get to decide what is or is not fair. Our role is to faithfully fulfill the covenant that we made with God at Baptism. We are incapable to determine the just reward of those around us. 

As I further consider this parable I note that each laborer received a penny for their labor. This illustrates the idea that we are all working toward the same goal that is of equal worth. We are all striving to return to the presence of the Father in the Celestial Kingdom. This idea eliminates any competition that may exist amongst the saints. 

While I continue to do my best work within the Lords vineyard I will always remain grateful that I was called early in the day perform this labor.  I know this will never make me better than those who were called later in life, and I know that this labor has and will continue bring me close to my God. 

The Price We all must pay

I think most of us all have an idea of what we need to give up to be a better a disciple of Jesus Christ. There seems to always be something we could be doing more or less of to follow the Savior in a more substantive way.
The word "disciple" implies that we embrace the teachings of Jesus Christ and assists in spreading those teachings. I have considered many times the qualities that are necessary to be considered a true disciple of Jesus Christ based off the teachings of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament.

I feel that a disciple of Jesus Christ recognizes and prioritizes that which is most important,
I feel that a disciple of Jesus Christ is willing to sacrifice his time and comfort to assist those that are within his circle of influence.
I feel that a disciple of Jesus Christ is disciplined enough to ignore insidious distractions and put God's work ahead of his or her worldly desires.
I feel that a disciple of Jesus Christ is strictly obedient to the commandments he or she has covenanted to keep.
I feel that a disciple of Jesus Christ is faithful enough to forsake everything he has to know Christ.


Certainly this is not all that is required to be a true disciple, but it is a start. As I consider the above list I consider that requirement that has been imposed upon us to forsake all. I question whether or not I have the faith. Perhaps ill never know until I'm put into the position to sacrifice those things that are dearest to me. However, I don't know what they future holds, but I don't think the Lord will ask us many of us to sacrifice our lives or the lives of our loved ones. Elder M. Russell Ballard explained, The Lord isn’t asking us to load up a handcart; He’s asking us to fortify our faith. He isn’t asking us to walk across a continent; He’s asking us to walk across the street to visit our neighbor. He isn’t asking us to give all of our worldly possessions to build a temple; He’s asking us to give of our means and our time despite the pressures of modern living to continue to build temples and then to attend regularly the temples already built. He isn’t asking us to die a martyr’s death; He’s asking us to live a disciple’s life.


I feel at this point of my life God needs me to sacrifice my time, my sins, and my means. I know that I don;t sacrifice neatly enough of time serving or attending the temple. If I have learned one thing in my short time on this Earth it is that as we serve of our fellow man we begin to see them as Christ sees them, and, as a result, we understand how he understands, we judge how we judges, and we become even as he is. 


As I consider the principle of sacrifice I reflect on the story of the young rich man who walked grieving because of his unwillingness to give up all that he had. I hope that I will never have to know how that young man felt. 

The Million Dollar question was never answered by the ten cent prayer.

Based off the title of this blog it might seem like I'm going to talk about prayer, but you would be wrong. I wanna discuss the principle behind this statement. I wanna talk about the price that we need to pay in order to gain access to God's power, specifically the power of his Priesthood. In the 17th chapter of Matthew we read about about a man and his afflicted child. Apparently this man's child was afflicted with some sort of devil. He approached the Apostles requesting that they heal the boy, and, based off his conversation with the Master, the Apostles were unable to heal the boy. The Apostles were confused by inability to do so and they inquired of the Savior as to why the were unable. With seeming indignation, the Savior tells his Apostles that they lacked faith, and that they only way they were going to be able to access God's power to heal was through prayer and fasting.

I can recall times in my life where I have neglected to do all that I can to access God's power. I think I have assumed that just because I have the authority to use the Priesthood that I can simply put my hands on someones head and perform a miracle. At times, I neglect to fast and pray, thereby showing my Heavenly Father that I truly want to work miracles. I think, at times, I am too casual about holding the Priesthood. Certainly these miracles can only occur when they coincide with the will of our Heavenly father, and when those participating have a sufficient amount of faith. I think that faith isn't solely demonstrated during the few minutes of a blessing. Faith is demonstrated as we attempt to utilize every available means we have to solve our own problems. We seek the counsel of others, consult physicians, prayer without ceasing, fast, and prove to God that we want to be healed because "we are saved by Grace after all that we can do."

I am so grateful to live in a time where we have so much access to information. I am so grateful to live in a time where we have so many resources to solve our own problems. I am also so grateful to know that when after I have tried all that I can our God has ordained servants to administer to us to comforts, counsel, and heal us of our afflictions. As you and I consider the process by which God heal us, I hope we will never think that it is a passive process, but one in which we must use our agency to act, and not be acted upon.