We can be His hands.

Recently I have become well acquainted with 2 Nephi 4. This chapter is so beautifully written, it is like poetry. The chapter is basically Nephi's lament and I know that we can all relate to it. I particularly love verses 23-24."Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time. And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me."
As long as we seek God in our lives, He will speak to us. As we offer up our sincerest desires in sacred and humble prayer, He absolutely hears us. In fact, He listens and answers. From my experience, He definitely doesn't answer in the timing or the way I'd like, but He always answers.

One thing I know for sure is that God uses His angels, on both sides of the veil, to answer those prayers. It's been amazing to me to see how people have touched my lives through their actions, words, testimonies..etc. I have also been blessed to see God guiding me in the words I say. We must first recognize the Lord's influence in our lives through other people. Then we must realize that He uses us as instruments to serve His children. Once we do, we will recognize opportunities to uplift someone. We can be EVIDENCE of God's love. Isn't that beautiful?

I was reminded yesterday of how unaware we are of the trials of those in our midst. A girl in my ward expressed the heartache she experiences from those not sympathizing with her and her depression. She advocated the importance of not only doing missionary work with investigators, but with members as well. There are many that are struggling, and many may be struggling with their own testimonies. I believe that these last days are for bringing the gospel to the whole earth, but I also believe that our missionary efforts will be focused on those members struggling with their faith.
That is why we MUST be ready to receive God's promptings. We must seek and pray to be His hands, His angels in these last days. He expects great things of us! I know that this is His great work. This is the way in which we can become more like Christ.

His Grace

Now is the time of my life that I am faced with what feels like, a million decisions. As a graduating senior, I have quite a few decisions to make in the next few weeks. It is really stressing me out. Sometimes, actually oftentimes, Satan creeps in and tells me that I'm not enough, that I won't succeed...etc. Any form of doubt creeps in. It is very discouraging. Even during the smallest feat, I allow myself to stress and doubt my abilities. When I'm working on a goal that seems insurmountable, I question the power of change. I was reminded of a scripture found in 2 Nephi 25:23 where Nephi says, "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." First of all, I love the first focus, that is essentially the purpose of the scriptures: it is to persuade US to believe in Christ. Christ truly is the center of the gospel, of the Book of Mormon, of His restored church in these latter-days.

Although we are often reminded that Christ has the power to save us, we often only rely on our efforts. We need to strengthen and renew our faith that Christ can heal and save us. At the end of the day, it is Christ who will deliver us. After ALL we can do, after we do our best, by the Lord's grace, we will be saved us and given the greatest, most joyous, path that will polish and refine us. We will reach a divine potential! That is the whole purpose of this life. I am so grateful for the knowledge of Christ's Atonement. I pray that I can better reflect on it's power in my daily life. I know that through Christ, we can be saved and changed in the day-to-day matters.

He never forgets. Never forsakes

My thoughts have been focused on having a testimony of Jesus Christ. At stake conference yesterday, we sang very powerfully the hymn, "How Firm a Foundation". Elder Lawrence spoke at the conference. Having triumphed over "mormon standard time", my roommates snagged great seats. I will never forget how I felt while singing the last few lines of the seventh verse and witnessing Elder Lawrence's reaction. "I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never, no never forsake!" I looked up to see the emotion and strongest conviction in Elder Lawrence's eyes. I felt it. And I know that he felt it. It was so sweet to see this leader of the church truly feel the power of those words. It strengthened my testimony of who Christ is and that I would never deny Him as my Savior.

I read a beautiful verse from the visiting teaching message that references Isaiah 49:16 and Christ's inability to forget us: "Christ has 'graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands". I love what these words mean literally and symbolically. He allowed His scars to remain as a reminder to us, to God, to Himself of the great love He has for us. His sacrifice is so much a part of Him and His love so eternal, that He will never forsake us!

I think it's important that we remind ourselves of the love that Christ has for each of us! It's a love that is real and powerful. I think that we can do our part to graven Christ upon ourselves figuratively. Our relationship with Christ is so precious, but there is always more we can do to better make Him a part of our lives. I'm so grateful for Him. I know that He lives. I know that He knows and loves me more than I can comprehend. I know that if we actively come unto Christ, we will strengthen our relationship with Him and feel more joy because of it!

The most desirable above all things..

I've been jumping a bit around the Book of Mormon in my daily reading. I read in 3 Nephi 19:9 about the disciples praying to God for that which they most desired, i.e. the Holy Ghost. That is such a profound and beautiful gift that the Lord can give us. This weekend I was just thinking about how truly amazing the gift of the Holy Ghost is. We literally have the companionship of a personage of the godhead. Isn't that incredible? I had an amazing gospel chat with my roommates last night. We philosophized and talked about our questions and testimonies of the gospel. The Spirit filled the room. I don't think I realized how strong it was until we had finished and I sat there thinking about how happy and peaceful I felt.

For a reading assignment in my religion class, I came across 1 Nephi 11:22-23. Nephi discovers the meaning of the fruit of the tree of life: "yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things....Yea and the most joyous to the soul".
I then made the connection between the two scriptures. It is through the Holy Ghost, that we TRULY feel of God's love. The disciples desired the companionship of the Holy Ghost because it was HOW God shows His love to them. I was very touched to be reminded of the importance and beauty of this gift that God has given me.

On another note, we have the privilege to share the LOVE of God with others around us through missionary efforts, home/visiting teaching efforts...etc. When we speak with the power of the Holy Ghost, we are essentially manifesting God's love unto these people. It's an amazing process! I know that God can speak to us, but we must not only pray for it but DESIRE it.

Choose Christ

Recently I have been thinking about the power of the adversary in our lives. Several focused their thoughts on Satan's influence in fast and testimony meeting yesterday. It was a very timely reminder to me as I have felt contention arise in my heart over a few things. Someone said something that really stood out to me. He said how we do not have the power alone to rid ourselves of Satan. It reminded me of Moses and how Satan NEVER departs until he says "through the authority of Jesus Christ". It was a reminder to me that Satan's power is real AND even more so, Jesus Christ's power is very real. It is through His Atonement, that we can rid ourselves of Satan and withstand temptation.

In chapter 7 of Moroni, Mormon talks of the importance of faith, hope and charity and how they are all connected. It's a beautiful chapter that brings to focus the power of the adversary. I specifically liked verse 19 "Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ."

The way by which we can discern good from evil is to seek Christ and search Him diligently. The closer we come to Christ and understanding His Atonement, the greater our faith will be. We will be more filled with the Spirit as we come unto Christ. Our resistance to temptations will be stronger. Christ is the KEY source to overcoming Satan's power. It's quite a simple, yet profound thought. I know that Jesus Christ is our true Savior. He is THE light to our eternal happiness. If we become a child of Christ, we will "lay hold upon every good thing". That is such a beautiful promise!!

The Power of Change

The Power of Change
When we think of change, we should think of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have been pondering on the idea of change lately. I have my own weaknesses and oftentimes I find myself succumbing to those weaknesses again and again. It is a very frustrating process. I often question whether I will ever be able to conquer this weakness. I am reminded of the infamous verse in Ether 12:27. We read of the prophet Ether prophesying to the people to come to know and believe in God. He shares a powerful verse,
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
The purpose for our weaknesses is that we may humbles ourselves before God and ask for help/forgiveness in humility. We were INTENDED to have weaknesses. It is only when we humble ourselves and have enduring faith, that the Lord will bless us. Our weaknesses may not become PERFECT in this life, but they can be stronger. We can have a stronger ability to resist temptation. That is an empowering thought.

I was speaking to a woman the other day about the Atonement. She paraphrased a talk of one of her stake leaders. She said, "Our faithfulness to the commandments unlocks the powers of the Atonement of Christ." It is only when we are faithful and ACTING by keeping the commandments/covenants that we can experience the power of the Atonement in our lives. I think that the biggest thing is consistency. I know that if we make a consistent effort to pray for humility, to be more Christ-like, that we will see great things come to pass!

Miracle of Miracles

The other day I read from Mormon 9 about how God continues to be a god of miracles. Moroni delivers a powerful sermon to those who are unbelieving. Afterward, I seemed to notice the beautiful miracles of nature all around me, e.g. the breathtaking mountains, the perfectly fallen snow. I thought about how a new born baby is the greatest miracle that happens every single day. These are just reminders to me that God is real!

There was one verse that particularly struck me as I was reading. Vese 20 says, "And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust." I immediately thought of the people I met in Italy who refused to believe that miracles exist today. I explained and testified to them that God does indeed answer prayers. Miracles do not have to be this massive healing experience that Christ performs. It can be something as simple as being protected while driving that day. However, often as a faithful people we dwindle in unbelief. At times, our faith can be weaker. We have to do our part to nourish the faith we do have. We have to develop a strong trust in God EVERY day. We do this by EXPECTING a miracle, coming unto Christ through prayer and scripture study. The more that we believe and develop trust in God, the more miracles we will recognize and be blessed with. That is a simple, but profound thought. It is essentially saying that God will bless those who believe. God will bring miracles as we come to know God!