"Becoming Stonger"

As I reflect on my life, I continue to ask myself, "How much can I take?" Our Heavenly Father is mindful of each and everyone one of us. He knows what we go through, what we face and how much we can handle. Each time we are faced with challenges and trials, it makes us stronger and stronger. It makes me think of a great poem that has great meaning as we go through life facing those things that we do not think we can bare till after the fact. It is called "The Oak Tree".

The Oak Tree

by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr.

  

A mighty wind blew night and day.

It stole the Oak Tree's leaves away.

Then snapped its boughs

and pulled its bark

until the Oak was tired and stark.

But still the Oak Tree held its ground

while other trees fell all around.

The weary wind gave up and spoke,

"How can you still be standing Oak?"

The Oak Tree said, I know that you

can break each branch of mine in two,

carry every leaf away,

shake my limbs and make me sway.

But I have roots stretched in the earth,

growing stronger since my birth.

You'll never touch them, for you see

they are the deepest part of me.

Until today, I wasn't sure

of just how much I could endure.

But now I've found with thanks to you,

I'm stronger than I ever knew.

The things that we all face in life, show us how strong we truly can Become. Just like this Oak Tree, I never knew what I could endure but with the trials I faced, the trust and faith I put in the Lord I always knew that I would come out on top and "Become Stronger".

 I know that as we put our lives into the Lord's hand and remember that we will never face anything in our lives that we cannot overcome. The Lord will help out and He will provide to make us "Stonger".

"What Lack I Yet?"

Today I have been pondering over something that everyone thinks about. What do I need to do to receive Eternal Life? Pretty big question to be asking huh? There was a story that came to mind, it is found in The New Testament in the first book, Matthew 19: 16-22;

16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

 17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

 18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

 19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

 21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

"What lack I yet?" We all might be good with the commandments, or other things, but we all have something that we need to work on. This life is a time to progress, live our best lives, and Follow Him. We need to continue to ask ourselves daily and ask ourselves, "What lack I yet?" What do I need to give up, change or do. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is full of things that we need in our lives. We have to take the time, stop and think about those things. We might have all the worldly things that we want but do we have the spiritual things that we need. Our Heavenly Father has given these great things for our reach, we just have to grasp a hold of them and Follow Him. That is truly the things that we need to do in this life to receive Eternal Life. Like Christ said to this man in these Scriptures, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven". how many of us could do that, I challenge all of us to ask ourselves "What lack I yet" and see what we need to do in this life to receive Gods greatest Gift, Eternal Life.

"Come Listen to A Prophets Voice"

Oh how grateful I am for a living Prophet that leads and Guides us today. We all have the opportunity to listen and hear from a living Prophet Today and tomorrow. I just want all of you to know that God still calls prophets today. Just like it stats in Amos 3:7; "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." God has done that in the Past and will always do that. He never changes His word. He is the "Same yesterday, today and forever". I know that we have a living Prophet, and as you open your heart as you listen to him and the Apostles your heart will be touched and you will truly feel the truthfulness of the things they say. They hold the truth and they share the truth for our lives today.

"He was There"

One thing that has been on my mind lately is Trials. We all face trials in our lives, some more of a serious note. As for me I think of all my trials that I am face with, it gets me down at times, as we all do. I have always been a big fan of the poem, "Footprints in the Sand", especially with trials that I face. I love this poem because, when we are faced with trials in life, we tend to forget about our Lord, and ask "Where are You". This poem shares with all of us that He is there, He will always be there. Sometimes we just don't notice him. As you read this poem, think of all the hard times in your life that you have only noticed one of the footprints and then think "Who was there", was it just me walking by myself or was it Him. I can testify to you all that "He was There", He will always be there to lift us up when we are down. I will be eternally Grateful for that.

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.”

The Gospel of Jesus Chirst

Today I want to rap The Gospel of Jesus Christ by concluding off with something that a lot of people forget about and don't do. Well I know I tend to forget to do. That is Endure to the End or Keep on Keeping on. Never give up, always follow the example of Jesus Christ and strive to stay on the Path that our Heavenly Father wants us on.

As we go through life, and we make these wonderful steps that our Heavenly Father wants, such as Having Faith, Repenting, Being Baptized by proper Authority, And receiving The Gift of the Holy Ghost; the question often comes up, "What do we do know? Am I saved now? What else?" These are some of the questions that I tend to ask myself as I continue to grow up and grow. And we all know that that is not it, there is more that we have to do in this life to return to be with our Heavenly Father.

In the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 31: 19-20, it clearly addresses just that. It states, 19And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

 20Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

That is truly what we have to do. As I read these verses it shows me what I have to look forward to as long as I live worthy of it. We can all receive Eternal Life, As we gain that faith, we repent of our Sins, follow the Example of Jesus Christ and be Baptized and receive the Holy Ghost and also Endure to the End. 

ITS THAT SIMPLE!!!

We all wish it was that simple though huh? Life is Rough but I know that as we continue to look forward to that end goal, praying for the protection and guidance of that Gift that we have, The Holy Ghost. We can all Gain that ultimate Goal, Eternal Life with our Heavenly Father and our Loved ones.

I know this is True!!! 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

As we enter the waters of Baptism, we make those sacred convents with our Heavenly Father. As we make those promises with Him, He gives us a special gift. And it is what I am going to talk about today. It is The Gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost is the 3rd member of the God Head, He is a personage of spirit that can reside within us, to Comfort us, teach us, and direct us. While we go through this life we face many of challenges and difficulties. God has given us a special gift as we live worthily and have been Baptized and received the laying on of Hands with one having the proper authority. We can have the Holy Ghost a member of the God head to be with us at all times. What a wonderful gift that our Heavenly Father has given us.

The Holy Ghost is there to keep us on the Straight and narrow path that our Heavenly Father wants us on. As we heed to the council of the Holy Ghost, we can make right decisions and do what our Heavenly Father wants.

It is great to know that we can have a special member of the God Head to be with us at all times, in all places as long as we live righteous lives and are in tune with the Spirit, and listen to its promptings. I am greatful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost, it has helped me make many difficult decisions that I did not know how to make. It is a Gift that all should have in there lives at all times and could have by the proper authority.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

I wanted to continue on with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We've talked about Faith and Repentance so far. And those are great steps that we need to have in returning to our Heavenly Father. The next step to doing such that is we all need to be Baptized.
In the Bible in John 3:5 it states, "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." So it clearly states that we need to be born of the water. Its really interesting as you think about Baptism. What is it?

Of course it is the opportunity to be born again and have our sins washed away. That is a special privilege that our Heavenly Father has set forth for us to becoming like him a little more. We are not perfect, none of us are, but our Savior Jesus Christ is and you might be wondering, Well if Baptism is what it really is and Christ is perfect why was he baptized. Well the Book of Mormon has the answer for you, In 2 Nephi 31: 5-7 it says, "5And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!

 6And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?

 7Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments."

Christ, Himself was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. It is a commandment of God, so everyone that comes to this earth needs to be baptized.

Now how are we baptized? Some people think that anyone can baptize, but that is not the case, Jesus Christ was baptized by John The Baptist who held the Priesthood Authority of God. So we need to all be Baptized by someone holding the right authority from God. Its that simple, we need that authority and God has reached out to His children and has placed His authority back on the earth. This brings up another topic that I would love to talk about in another post someday.

But as we are baptized we make some covenants or promises with our Heavenly Father. They are; Taking the name of Jesus Christ upon us, Always to remember Him, and To keep His commandments. Three basic promises that we make but sometimes are so hard to keep. That is why each week we partake of the Sacrament to Re-new those promises and strive to live them to the best of our ability.

But i know that Baptism is an essential part of us returning to our Heavenly Father. It shows our commitment, desire to follow our Savior Jesus Christ and to live as He has lived.