March To The Miracle: Part 3

Well the tournament is over and Kentucky comes out victorious; a team full of young, athletic talent. However, more importantly, besides their abilities, championship teams win because of one thing... Teamwork. Having great talent is very benefiting, but then there's the famous line, "There's no 'I' in 'TEAM'." As Kentucky neared the end of the tournament, it kept getting tougher and tougher for them to win. In order for them to win, each player needed to be on  the same page with each other. As a result they became a better team that was focused on the same goal and they each knew their role in accomplishing it. It was very important for each player to know what their role was so that their goal could be reached. Now I will continue from where I last left off. One of the greatest gifts we can receive from our Heavenly Father here on earth is the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Just as each player did their best to execute to reach their goal, the Holy Ghost will help us execute the things we do in our lives to be in accordance to the teachings of the Savior. What an amazing thing the Holy Ghost does for us, He helps us to do what's right, what our Heavenly Father wants us to do! We receive a promise of this from our Savior Jesus Christ in John chapter 14 verse 26:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

If we faithfully do what the Savior teaches, we will be guided by the Holy Ghost to do what is right. Back to Kentucky, as the players continually work hard to complete their goal, they will eventually get tired. They don't have perfect health and won't be able to last a full 40 minutes without taking a rest. Same with people in general, we're human, and we're always going to make mistakes. And this is what brings us to the last word that was in quotes. I know it was a while ago the last time it was mentioned, but here it is again: "miracle". The miracle, or in other words a gift, the greatest gift given from our Heavenly Father, is eternal life. A prophet from the Book of Mormon explains how we can receive eternal life in 2 Nephi chapter 31 verse 20:

"Wherefore, 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."

Those 4 words are the important part. When we do that, then we shall have eternal life. What are those things we need to do in "enduring to the end"? 

"...and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ..."

Which is what was mentioned in the past couple blogs I wrote: Having faith unto repentance, being baptized by immersion (after baptism partaking of the sacrament weekly), receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As I said before, we are all humans and we will make mistakes. By applying these principles daily by: having faith that Christ can heal us from our mistakes, then to repent of those mistakes daily, then, after being baptized, partaking of the sacrament weekly to renew the covenants made at baptism, than as we do that the Holy Ghost will be with us, then to continue doing these things and building on your knowledge of the gospel through diligent studying of the scriptures, prayer, and following all the commandments. Sounds pretty easy doesn't it? With God's help anything is possible!

Patience... A Great Blessing

What do we do when we want something, but don't get it when we want it? We get frustrated, angry, and impatient, right? That's where patience comes in. We all know that famous quote, "patience is a virtue." Everyone should develop this characteristic, or become better at it because it will benefit ourselves now, and throughout our lives. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a talk in the April 2010 General Conference on patience, entitled "Continue in Patience". He gave an example in which he says:

"In the 1960s, a professor at Stanford University began a modest experiment testing the willpower of four-year-old children. He placed them before a large marshmallow and then told them they could eat it right away or, if they waited for 15 minutes, they could have two marshmallows.

"He then left the children alone and watched what happened behind a two-way mirror. Some of the children ate the marshmallow immediately; some could wait only a few minutes before giving in to temptation. Only 30 percent were able to wait.

"It was a mildly interesting experiment, and the professor moved on to other areas of research, for, in his own words, 'there are only so many things you can do with kids trying not to eat marshmallows.' But as time went on, he kept track of the children and began to notice an interesting correlation: the children who could not wait struggled later in life and had more behavioral problems, while those who waited tended to be more positive and better motivated, have higher grades and incomes, and have healthier relationships."

What a great example he gives to those who are patient. This can apply to all ages. When we want something and are willing to put the desire for it on hold, we will benefit from the sacrifice and will have success in many aspects of our lives.

However, there is more to just waiting for what we want. We have to put forth the effort, to work for our  desires instead of just expecting it to just show up in our hands. In that same talk, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a splendid definition of patience: "Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can--working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"

May we all strive to do all we we can to develop this characteristic. It will only improve our lives!

Don't Look Back

Each and every one of us can learn from the story of Lot's wife. As I watched this video, I was thinking of where this video was going. Then it hit me as they were getting to the moral of the story. God commanded  Lot that he and his family needed to leave and not to look back. Lot's wife was scared to leave her past behind because she loved it so much, and so she looked back. She was set so much on the things she was leaving behind and didn't think of the future. As a result she turned into a pillar of salt. We can learn from this by not looking back to the past and to look forward to the future. We can't go back. We can learn from it, but we need to live for the future. We need to have hope that everything will turn out well as we leave our past behind. God has a plan for everyone of us. We need to trust him and have faith in him that our future will be better. As we learn from our past we can change our future. Our Savior Jesus Christ loves us so much that he suffered for our sins so that we have that chance to change our past. The Atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to live for the future. I am very grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for his Atonement, allowing me to ask for forgiveness of my sins. Giving me the strength to forget about my past and to have a better future. I love my Savior so much for his sacrifice.