I KNOW That My Redeemer Lives

Last night, I gave my last spiritual thought at Ward Prayer. I gave the thought on the difference between believing in Christ and knowing Christ. I know without a doubt that I have a Savior who loves me. Who cares for me. I know that I have a Savior who carried out the Atonement for every sin, pain and sorrow that I would ever commit or feel. I know this. I don't just believe it. I am so grateful for that knowledge. That knowledge is what has lead me to stand up for Him, to live the standards of the gospel. I think of all that he has done for me and I cannot let that go to waste. I cannot let what others may think of me deter me from doing what I know to be true. I know that I have a redeemer because the Holy Ghost has left impressions on my heart that I cannot deny. I've felt the truthfulness of it, and I continue to feel the truthfulness of it everyday.

I know that anyone who wants to have this knowledge for themselves can come to have it. President Joseph Fielding Smith said that the knowledge of the redeemer is a gift of the spirit, and in D&C 46 vs 28 &30 it is promised that those who ask in the spirit will receive in the spirit. Ask for the knowledge. You'll receive it. It's true.

Prayers of a Stranger

Today I went to a Stake Relief Society Party. There was food, service projects, and uplifting messages. It was a grand time. But the take home message from today was that of the prayers of a stranger. Let me explain.

One of my dear friends was explaining how she has an interview for a new job this week. She then went on to say that if she gets this job, she will be able to go home for Christmas. I then heard a girl (who did not know my friend, or that I was listening to her talk) tell her friend that she would pray that my friend would get the new job so she would be able to go home for Christmas. This girl that I was now listening to went on to say that she knew how horrible it was to spend the holidays away from your family and so she was going to make sure to keep my friend in her prayers. The love that this stranger was willing to show for my friend warmed my heart. It is so easy to pray for the ones you know, but to pray for the ones you don't know is something else. The love that this wonderful sister showed my friend today is something I will never forget. It inspires me to do a little better--to offer a few more prayers for those whom I don't know. I'm so grateful for the wonderful sister who was willing to make my friends concerns hers, and for the wonderful example she gave to me.

Decisions

I must admit something about myself. I have a desire to make good decisions. Sometimes I fall short, but the intentions of my heart are usually good. I realize that some people struggle to have the desire to be good, but this is not my struggle--my struggle is making the right decision when I have no idea where my life is going. Sometimes, (like right now in particular) I feel like I have no idea which direction my life is going. This makes it extremely hard for me to make decisions that I feel comfortable with: decisions that could very well alter the course of my life. My hesitation to make these life altering decisions is not a derivative of lack of faith, or lack of knowledge of my Heavenly Father's plan for me. I know that he knows what is right for me.. I just do not know what he would have me do. At times like this, I find solace in knowing that as long as I'm living the way I should, and I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, life will work out the way it's supposed to. As long as I'm doing things that edify, and are of God, then the decisions that I make will be the correct ones.

Awesome Articles

As psychology undergrad and an aspiring social worker... I fell in love with this article. (Even if you aren't interested in working in either of those fields, it's a really good read :) )

As a self admitted perfectionist, and one who used to have a perfect GPA and still secretly wishes I had one... I fell in love with this article. Even though it is long, and is directed to BYU students, there is truth in it for students on all campuses. :)

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the BYU article:

"I believe that each of us has been foreordained to a specific mission. We have been preserved to come forth in this particular time of the world's history, and we will be held accountable to a loving Father in Heaven for how well we learn and fulfill the divine purpose whereunto we have been called. The purpose of education, then, is to assist us as we discover, prepare for, and freely fulfill our divinely ordained missions."

"As you seek to discover your divine mission, learn to grow where you are planted. In fact, learn to look for places where you can make a difference. Church service should not be postponed until life is easier. I don't know if it ever gets easier. If you don't learn to serve the Lord while you are in school, how will you answer that you learned all you should have while attending BYU? I once heard wonderful counsel about selecting a career. When a man was asked why he had chosen to become a minister, he replied, "I looked where the fighting was the heaviest and where the lines were the thinnest, and that's where I chose to go." Part of your opportunity to serve the kingdom of God depends more upon where you live than on the specific career you select. Seeking the comforts of an exclusive neighborhood may exclude you from significant opportunities to make a difference. Don't aspire to comforts, be they economic or religious. Don't stay here too long. The world needs you!

The Lord has told us that those who need to be commanded in all things are slothful servants. We should be anxiously engaged in good causes of our own free will and choice and "bring to pass much righteousness" (see D&C 58:26 27), even if it doesn't increase our GPA. We are to "seek learning, even by study and also by faith" (D&C 88:118), even if it isn't required on the final exam. We are to pursue everything that is "virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy" (Articles of Faith 1:13), even if we don't get credit for it.

In contrast, the thinking most useful for excelling in the game of school does not fit very well into the kingdom of God. For example, can you imagine someone seriously asking, "What's the least I can do to make it into the celestial kingdom?" Wouldn't it seem strange to try to think up strategies to help you compete better in the final judgment or to practice techniques for making a better impression at the judgment bar? This type of thinking may work well for schooling as a game, but it isn't celestial thinking--and these aren't celestial questions.

I've heard it said that education is the only area that Americans pay for and almost hope to be cheated--to be asked to do as little as possible for the credit. I'm afraid I was guilty. In the world's education one can get A's in theology without even believing in God, and one can receive top honors in the "Marriage and Family Living" course while contributing to a painful divorce or abusing family members. But an education for the Lord's errand requires a focused mind, a pure heart, and a life of integrity."

"I'm not completely comfortable with describing our effort at BYU as trying to combine the sacred with the secular. I would feel better describing it as an effort to learn the temporal in the context of the eternal. Spiritual experiences cannot be secular, but I know of no "secular" subject that cannot and should not be spiritual. Tell Abraham, for example, that astronomy is a secular subject. The Lord has told us that he never gives temporal commandments because all things are spiritual unto him--and I believe that they ought to be for us as well. The languages of Chinese or Finnish could certainly be considered secular subjects, but when we study them in the context of serving a mission--a proselyting mission or a life mission--they become unequivocally spiritual.

The sacred and the secular are not determined primarily by the subject matter but by the hearts and purposes of those engaged in the process. From this perspective, if we are not studying to prepare for our divine mission, even to study the most sacred texts will be a secular experience. (I fear that for me, too often my religion classes were almost as secular as my other classes because my heart was so enamored with the game of school.) Our challenge is to see the sacred nature of all truth and to pursue it in such a way that we fulfill the mission to which God has and will call us. I am not suggesting that all truth is of equal value or importance but that the way in which we pursue it, if done by the Spirit, will become part of our divine mission--part of our exaltation."

"Grades seemed to dominate my life. But whatever else grades can measure, they cannot measure what is most important. A GPA is not an average of that which matters most. Even with the most conscientious effort to be fair and equitable in how grades are given, they are often used to justify assigning people into a society divided into "ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning" (3 Nephi 6:12). And whatever Christian justification might be given for grades, I do know that if we allow our learning to be primarily motivated and dominated by them, we will be serving the wrong master. If any of us were to die at the end of the semester, I doubt that Saint Peter would ask to see our transcripts. We might, however, be asked, "You've just had a semester at BYU (or two or 12). How well have you used your time, talents, and energy to prepare yourself to serve the Lord?"

"But, Brother Richards," some may say, "you aren't being realistic! Grades do matter. I have to play the game. Unless I focus on grades, I won't be able to keep my scholarship; I won't be admitted into the most prestigious graduate program; I may not get the best job." The reality is, however, that you are not on this earth to maintain a scholarship, enter prestigious graduate schools, or beat someone else in the marketplace. You have a much higher standard. You need to please the Lord God Omnipotent. I promise you that if you please him, with an eye single to his glory, your life will not be without great opportunities. The Lord doesn't want you to shortchange your educational preparations. Your scholarship won't be less if you consecrate these preparations to him as an offering. I doubt your GPA will even decrease when you seek to serve the real Master. And, as with Daniel of old, others will see your good works and because of them "glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). True accountability is to him to whom someday we must all give an accounting. No mortal standard, no matter how rigorous, is high enough."

I Write What I Know

D&C 35: 8

“For I am God, and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name.”

“For I am God.” Is there anything more reassuring or more powerful? Think of it. If we know who God is, all He has done, and know of his infinite power, then we can automatically find peace in his ability to succor his people. Knowledge of God and our relationship with Him brings peace and reassurance to the soul.

In Isaiah 59:1 it gives some further enlightenment on what the phrase “mine arm is not shortened” means. When the Lord says his arm is not shortened, it means that there is nothing that is outside of his reach—there is absolutely nothing that the Lord cannot do.

A knowledge of God, our relationship with him, as well as the magnitude of his power allows us, as his children, to receive the blessings he has promised us. The Lord will indeed show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all of those who believe on his name. He will provide a way for those who are doing their best to obtain the guidance and revelation they need to withstand the trials and temptations that are in this life.

How do I know this? How can I make such claims? Because I’ve seen it in my life. I write so often about how much strength there is in coming closer to God, about how after you learn of Him and your relationship with Him, He will perform miracles in your life… I write about this because I write what I know from experience to be true. The miracles that have been made evident in my life have not been what the world would consider extravagant, but they have been miraculous: miraculous in the sense that they were what I needed. God has given me hope, joy, strength, and the courage to keep fighting. There is nothing that God’s arm cannot conquer, for He is God.

Going Through the Motions

Breathing. I do it all of the time, but unless I'm running I rarely consciously think about doing it. I just... do it. In and out, in and out--I go through the motions every day of my life. While the ability to focus my attention on other tasks and continue to breathe is a phenomena that I'm grateful for, there are some areas of my life that would be especially lacking if this concept overflowed into them.

One area that deserves all of my attention is relationships. I feel that it is important that I make sure that I never find myself guilty of going through the motions of being in a relationship. Doing so is unfair to both the other person as well as to myself. I need to make sure that when I tell someone that I love them, I am expressing it sincerely, and for the right reasons. There's no sense in me telling someone I love them if I don't sincerely mean it: simply pronouncing or declaring love does not establish or maintain love. I am not saying that I am going to stop telling those whom I love that I love them, rather, I am going to try and make certain that I am doing more than just saying words to them, I want them to be able to feel that I love them.

The notion of merely going through the motions in relationships is one that saddens me. Perhaps it saddens me so much because I have gone through the motions--and it was emotionless and joyless. From others' perceptions, my life was wonderful, but that was not the case. What I have learned from that experience is to love with all of my heart, all of the time. Why not experience the joy that there is to be had in actually bonding, connecting, and loving others? Love is not derived from holding hands or giving gifts; rather, it is gained by giving of one's self. It is acquired by learning to fulfill the needs of others. To feel rather than to simply exist.

Happiness :)

I was created in the image of God. This is true not only in the sense that my body was crated after the image of my creator’s—it is also true because I was created to have the same character as God. My God is cheerful, lively, and good natured. How do I know this? I know this because when I have his spirit, I too am cheerful, lively, and good-natured.

As I have come to invite the spirit of the Lord in my life, I have noticed that I have become genuinely happy. That is not to say that I have not ceased to have trials, sorrow, or grief—because I have continued to have all of them—but my spirit has been buoyed up, I have been able to find reasons to laugh, and I have found peace. This lightened load has increased my capacity to endure trials, and remain optimistic.

Being optimistic does not mean that you have to have a perm-a-grin on your face all of the time. God himself feels sorrow, and I was created in his image: I was made to feel. It brings me great comfort to know there is nothing wrong with me if I have a sad day, a sad week, or even a sad month as long as I’m remaining optimistic; I can have a sad day as long as I’m having a good life. Despite all of life’s difficulties, there is nothing temporal that can cancel out the joys that eternity has to offer: the joys that the gospel has to offer.

The gospel has brought such great joy into my life, joy and happiness beyond description. I don’t have all the logical answers, but I have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I have a knowledge of my Heavenly Father. I know that I am a Daughter of God. And I am happy. And that’s enough.