Seek Ye the Kingdom of God

Luke 12:13-34

Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink...
... But rather seek ye the kingdom of God;
and all these things shall be added unto you. 

The book of Luke details an event where the Savior of the world teaches apostles and those gathered a parable about inheritance and worldly posession. He teaches of how we are not to seek for the worldly inheritance and riches, but to seek for the kingdom of God.

The important teaching here is to evaluate, really check and search within ourselfs and see as to whether what we are focused on is the right thing to do. It's hard sometimes to put God first in our lifes above family and friends, above work and leisure commitments, or even above church commitments. I know from experience that the joy that comes from thinking first of God before the others is unparallelled to any.

'Considering the lillies', as the Savior teaches, which are in the fields unable to care for themselves can teach us a valuable lesson. Nobody looks afterthem, yet they remain. God looks after them and has put procesess in nature by which they can be sustained. He has a great plan for them, and a great plan for us. When we seek His will and His plan in our lives, we will truely flourish.Read the account and see the video depicting this teaching by clicking here.

The Savior of the world teaches us,

if we follow in God and His path

for us

we will not need to worry.

It requires pure faith and trust,

and the rest will be made up. 

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What is the Book of Mormon?

What is the Book of Mormon?

"Whatever our age, capacity
Mormons believe the Book of Mormon
does not replace the Bible;
rather, they are companion works of scripture
that together teach about God and Jesus Christ."

As members of the Church we all know of the Book of Mormon and what it teaches. We would have gained testimony of it that lead to baptism in this church rather than an other. The power of the Book of Mormon is unprecedented to any other book. It holds authority that no other book does.

Preach My Gospel teaches that the Book of Mormon is the foundation of our testimony. It likens it to an arch, if the keystone is removed it crumbles. The Book of Mormon is our keystone of testimony. The truths taught within span our entire religion.

Millions are testifying of the Book of Mormon around the world. Are you one of them? Share a video on Facebook, or pass a free copy on to a friend through either the local missionaries or online.

An Apostle of the Lord teaches
how we all can remember
the testimony we have, and share it, 
of the Book of Mormon.

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Member Missionary Work

Member Missionary Work

I've talked about it before, but I found something funny today about member missionary work.

Me and my companion were investigating into community service and I found a post card that made me laugh. I related it to member missionary work. Don't think mental health, think about talking to friends about the gospel.

 

As missionaries, we understand that it can be hard to talk to friends about the gospel. I would say - don't think about it as what we do on the streets. You aren't there to tell them about Joseph Smith receiving the priesthood on the Susquehanna river (unless they ask I suppose!). You want to aim at sharing with them when they're having a hard time with wayward kids about the youth programs in the church. Perhaps to speak about the spirit world when they grieve the loss of their loved ones. 

In whatever you do, remember that the best way to help someone understand the gospel is by making it part of everyday life and likening truth you know to questions they have. You don't have to be a doctrinal wizard, you merely need to testify of what the principle means to you and how it has changed your life.

Best of luck, try look for these opportunities this week :)

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We Are One

President Henry B. Eyring

"Whatever our age, capacity
church calling, or location,
we are as one,
called to the work to help
Him in His harvest of souls
until He comes again."

 

A talk from a conference of the church held in April 2013 motivates me. I am currently a religious missionary, but that will not last much longer (only 5 weeks infact!). That shouldn't and won't stop me from sharing the gospel message, and working in harmony with other members of the church in the same goal and action.

Everybody is taught from the Holy Bible of the importance of doing good to others, and bringing them unto Christ. Some are not there yet, those of us who are with Christ must bring the rest of us there too.

Informatively I watched a video this morning about the tree of life as shared in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi chapter 8. It teaches of a dream had by a prophet, Lehi, detailing the state of the world we live in. It teaches of how in many ways people will find it too hard, not worth it, and unproductive to be a disciple of Christ. I pray we know better, that we can guide our friends and neighbours along the path leading to Christ and eternal life.

An Apostle of the Lord teaches
we are all one in the same cause
and in the same calling
to brings souls to Christ,
and to bring the gospel to all.

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The Reason Behind Conversion

D&C 88:22

For he who is not able to abide
the law of a celestial kingdom, 
cannot abide a celestial glory.

 

A new mormon message came out from a 2006 talk by Richard G Scott about rock climbing. He likens how some people go soloing, and it's very dangerous, versus people who go in groups or together with the right equipment, which is quite safe.

Just like rock climbing alone can be dangerous, living your life without the help of the Savior can have disastrous consequences. We all don't want to be 'that guy' who tells people that without the Savior they cannot truely be happy. They can be very happy people, you can indeed live your life just great without the Savior in it at all. I wasn't there, but I can safely say there were many happy and fulfilled people all throughout time in non-christian areas of the world, and will continue to be.

What is the truth though, is what we cannot see from our side of the veil. It is the fact that we cannot live in happiness for eternity without the Savior, Jesus Christ. His atonement ransomed us from sin, and his atonement allows us entrance to the Celestial Kingdom of God.

Dallin H Oaks put a very good point across which can be found in Preach My Gospel:

"We do not preach and teach in order to ‘bring people into the Church’ or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives. … We invite all to come unto Christ by repentance and baptism and confirmation in order to open the doors of the celestial kingdom to the sons and daughters of God. No one else can do this"

Rock climbing alone can be dangerous,
when we go prepared, we can be safe. 
This is like salvation.
When we want to be safe, and
return to God, we need Christ.

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Learning from Children

3 Nephi 17:21-23

And he took their little children, one by one, 
and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
And when he had done this he wept.

And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them:
Behold your little ones.

 

Elder Ballard, one of the Lord's twelve apostles in our day said of this scripture: "Notice that He didn't say 'glance at them' or 'casually observe them' or 'occasionally take a look in their general direction.' He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes".

I think it is important to take many lessons from these children. We need to always remember the simple humility that they posses. They were with God more recently than us, and still have that purity about them. They can be little devils, but they have no real pride or guile like we can often have. 

When we drop the technicalities, the 'what' and 'how's of a situation, and think of the reason 'why' we do things, we can see that some activities are more important than others. We can see what really matters, just as a child so often does. 

The boys in this video each learn
an important lesson which sticks with them
throughout their life. They learn that showing love
instead of playing tricks is more rewarding,
and teach many along the way.

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The Grain of Mustard Seed

Matthew 17:20

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed,
ye shall say unto this mountain, 
Remove hence to yonder place
and it shall remove;
and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

I think in our lives we have changing levels of faith displayed. For every moment we have an amount of faith in a person or a thing or a principle based on our experiences with it. The above scripture declares that all we need to move mountains is faith as a grain of mustard seed. The picture above shows just how small that is; the seeds are usually 1mm or 2mm in diameter.

For me, the size isn't really what makes it, it is the fact that it is physical, and an object. Most likely used because in Christ's time that would likely have been the smallest conceivable object to the people, and yet they don't even have that much faith.

It says a lot to me that our faith isn't quite a tangible object, and we might think that we have a lot of faith, but in actual fact, we don't have as much as we had hoped. Joseph B Wirthlin (one of the Lords apostles in our day) says something similar, he likens it to a fire. Some people may feel like their testimony is strong, their fire is powerful, when actually it is only a candle flame compared to another person's roaring bonfire. This is applicable to faith too, we may feel like we have enough faith to overcome challenges, or to receive inspiration and revelation, but in actual fact it is not much at all.

When trials come, we need our faith to be as strong as possible.

The girl in this video learns the truthfulness of
the Book of Mormon, by asking and praying 
to God in faith. Her faith helped her find a crucial
answer; what can your faith do for you?

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