I'm a Mormon

https://www.mormon.org/me/HZZ5

The Cross?

Today I went on a tour of temple square and of the conference center with my mom. It was such a great tour and the spirit was so strong. On our way up to Ogden after the tour my mom mentioned how similar the Catholic faith was to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and how she was disappointed that there weren't any crosses. I froze up, but was driven into deeper thought concerning the matter. 

The cross is something that in Christianity is used as a symbol of Christ, but throughout modern times it has become used in many ways contrary to religion, and has even in some cases been used inappropriately. 

In LDS literature and buildings I think about when we see the cross, and something stood out to me. When we see the cross, it isn't just the cross we see, but Jesus suffering upon it. The cross isn't just a sign for Jesus, but a sign for what he did for us, which is deeper than what happened on the cross.

The atonement. The suffering of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. How he bleed from every pore and how he took upon our sins there. Every pain we have ever encountered he has experienced. Emotional, physical, all of it. The act of his atonement was then finished upon the cross of Calvary. 

So looking back, the cross wasn't all that Christ suffered, there was a lot more that took place in the garden. There are two parts to the most important thing that has ever happened in the history of the world. Taking upon the sins of mankind. It started in the garden, and was then finished upon the cross. 

Why only symbolize one, when so much of the saviors trial was in the other? 

Be Willing.

Be willing to change. Be willing to become the person Heavenly Father wants us to become. Be willing to change through the Atonement of Christ. 

When people said "change through the Atonement" I was confused. How can you change through the act of someone else? The Atonement is much more than an act, the Atonement is everything. It's how we can let go of our trials, guilt, troubles, inperfections, everything. Believing in the Atonement is believing in life after death. The Atonement gives us the ability for our sins to be forgiven. When we repent, it should bring about a change in our hearts, and a willingness to become better people. The first step in becoming like Christ is our willingness to accept that we are nothing compared to the glory we can become. Not saying that we are nothing, and unimportant or insignificant, but that compared to the glory Christ there's a lot to catch up on! 

Be willing. 

Be willing to change. To become something more. To be willing to pray to our father in heaven to help us.

He is there. He is ready. He just wants us to come to him, so he can make us perfect in him. 

CHARITY.

During His mortal ministry, Jesus Christ was asked which commandment was the greatest or most important. He answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” 

When studying the life and ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ there is one attribute of our savior that stands out among the rest. Charity. The pure love Christ showed throughout his entire life. The purest kind of love in the history of the world being shown by him in the atonement. In reading Paul’s words to the corinthians, I ponder the meaning of this phrase “faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” In his farewell message to the Lamanites, Moroni declared “Except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God” And one of the strongest statements in all of scripture (and this occurs twice in Moroni) "For if he have not charity, ye are nothing"

I think what Paul and Moroni meant in these statements was that if we're not acting in love, it's not seen in the eyes of God. We can't go doing good when are hearts aren't moving in conjunction with good. 

Charity is pure love - and more specifically the pure love of Christ. 

President Thomas S. Monson said "There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, aid to those who are afflicted. True charity is love in action. The need for charity is everywhere.

Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others." 

As imperfect human beings obtaining this may seem very difficult and even impossible, but to you brothers and sisters I ask this question. 

What if love were our only motive? 

This past week in studying this topic I have been asking myself this question. As a student, I might be motivated to make good grades. This isn't necessarily an evil motive, but it isn't enough. I might make straight A's, get into graduate school, or land the best job, but again as Moroni taught "if we have not charity, we are nothing" We can even do things with less than lottable motives. 

When my parents ask me to do a simple chore, I can either complain and have a negative attitude about it, or I can go and do the things they ask with the intention of good in my heart. Doing the things they ask me because I love them and more importantly love the lord. 

For the Savior, love and charity were identical. All of His acts of charity were done not from a sense of duty, but from a deep feeling of love for all He encountered. 

Why we do things is more important than what we do. Acts that appear good on the surface may not be pure. And the purest motive of all is love. Is it really possible to do everything out of love? 

Is it possible to do something asked of us that we really don't want to do with full love? 

Is it possible to love someone who has wronged us? 

I think all of us in a way can relate to the story of the prodigal son. One who has gone away, but has come back to the right path. But we can also relate to the brother of the prodigal son, who resented is brother for all the positive attention he was getting from his father. The fathers only motive was love for both of his sons. He forgave one, and helped the other come in and celebrate the return of his brother. 

We learn in Moroni chapter 7 that charity suffereth long, it is kind, and not easily provoked. We learn that charity never faileth and it endures forever. Charity is strong. 

So how can we obtain this strongest of attributes? 

The way we can become more charitable is by studying the life of Jesus Christ and keeping his commandments. Look at Christ. He lacked selfishness, vanity, ego, self-centeredness, he never sought his own advancement. He looked outwards not inwards. 

The first step in obtaining Charity, would be to pray for it. Don't we take all our imperfections to the Lord and repent ask for his strength?! When we repent of our wrongdoings, don't we desire to become better?! 

Moroni 7:48 reads: "Wherefore my beloved brethren, pray unto the father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with his love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are the true followers of his son, Jesus Christ; that he may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have his hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure." 

I love what Preach My Gospel says about Charity in the Christlike Attributes Chapter, it reads: "Charity is a gift from God. The prophet Mormon said that we should "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that we may be filled with his love" As you follow this counsel and strive to do righteous works, your love for all people will increase, especially those among you labor. You will come to feel a sincere concern for the eternal and happiness of other people. You will see them as children of God with the potential of becoming like our Heavenly Father, and you will labor in their behalf. You will avoid negative feelings such as anger, envy, lust, or covetousness. You will try to understand them and their points of view. You will be patient with them and try to help them when they are struggling or discouraged. Charity, like faith, leads to action. You will develop charity as you look for opportunities to serve others and give of yourself." 

I think we can obtain this pure love by being anxiously engaged in seeking it. If we have real intent for obtaining it, then we can. Something I have discovered is that where much is desired, much is given. Our Heavenly Father knows our desires, and will reward us according to the desires or our heart.  

Again I ask, what if love were our only motive? Magnifying that gift of pure love in our hearts will bring an ever increasing love and peace. We will begin to act more like him, and the attributes of natural man will begin to diminish within us and will begin to be replaced by the heart and mind of our savior Jesus Christ. 

Thoughts on Conversion

If you would've told me 2 years ago I would be a Mormon convert I probably would have laughed at you. Really. Prior to investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I didn't care about practicing a religion at all really. The concept of religion is what interested me, not salvation. Sometimes I question why salvation and life after death wasn't something I thought of, or cared about most of my life to this point. Being brought up in the south everything revolves around protestantism,  and mainly the Baptist religion. The main factor in these churches (especially in Alabama) is accepting Jesus Christ in your heart and being saved through that (which I had already done at that time of my life). Another thing that might have led to not questioning my salvation was the lack of Christianity and prayer in public school. When you spend most of your time at school, you spend most of your time thinking about school related things (which most of the time isn't religious).
Which leads me to think that most of your religious influence isn't based on what you truly believe, but who you are around and what is "normal" in the society to live in.
When we come to this earth, we are born into a families who make a great impact in leading the course of our life. Who we become, what we do, where we live, and the society and culture we are around. When born into culture, comes religion. 

Our family and our religion a lot of the time become connected. We want to please our parents and family since we love them very much. Even when we grow older, get married, and have children of our own, the bonds of generations of family still exist. This makes it very difficult for people to change. To be a pioneer in there family, and to embark on a journey that is unknown. When going against what the rest of your family believes, it may cause problems in relationships, and many hardships. I have recently heard the phrase "live the adventure" and when I think adventure I think the unknown. Embarking on something that isn't seen. The times we take the greatest risks in life are the times we are most rewarded. Do something new. Do something right. 

Be a poineer. 

Look to the temple.

I was thinking, why do people say this phrase all the time, to "look to the temple." Those against the church say it's a way of brainwashing and manipulation towards its members. The church says it is because of the sacred ordinances thereof. 

The church is right, it's because of the sacred ordinances. But there is a greater purpose behind why we look to the temple besides the ordinances. 

It's because when we look to the temple, we are looking to Christ. Christ looked after others, not himself. 

Members of the church go to the temple most of the time to complete ordinances for people who have already passed on. 

We are baptized members of the church outside temple walls. Inside temple walls we baptize and confirm others who did not have a chance to do that while on this earth. (See John 3:5)  We are not looking to ourselves when going, but are looking to others. We are helping them do something, and they can accept it. Even if they have left this earth. 

Another ordinance members perform in temples is the endowment. Endowment means gift, or bestowal. It is a blessing recieved from on high. We complete this ordinance for ourselves in the temple, and after that, for others. The same for the sealing (eternal marriage.) 

In the beginning of the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon it speaks of a great prophet by the name of King Benjamin. He had 3 sons and one of them was named Mosiah. Mosiah was chosen as King. Mosiah made a proclamation throughout the land that people gather and hear the great words of Benjamin. A great number of people came to the temple to hear him speak. So many that there wasn't enough room in the temple to instruct them all. 

They pitched there tents around the temple. Every man having his tent with the door towards the temple. (Mosiah 2:6) Looking to the temple. Looking towards the prophet. Looking to succor the words of Christ. 

I don't think the people in the land of Zarahemla just put the doors toward the temple to sit to listen. It was because they wanted to look unto the temple. Every morning the first thing, to walk out and see it there. To remember it. 

Today we all don't have the luxury of having a temple across the street, or even being able to see it often. But we can remember it in our lives. We can ponder every day what we have felt in the temple, and what we look for every time we go. The temple can be within us. 

So remember the temple. Study the teachings of it. Look towards it always. It will be your beacon of Light in the midst of the things of the world.

(www.ldschurchtemples.com)

Happy Fathers Day!

Today is Sunday and I didn't go to church. I know...you're probably asking why since it's the sabbath, and partaking of the sacrament is super important, but I had something more important to do. Spend time with my family, and in particular my daddy! I love my dad, he's not a member of the church if you can't already tell, but spending time with him is one of the most important things I can do! I don't have much more time with him all the time since I'm moving up to Idaho for college. I love my family. I was put with them for a reason. I learn from them, grow from them, learn from there mistakes (haha :) and are super blessed. Some days I feel sad how I don't sit with them at church every week, and how we're not sealed in the temple. But then I remember: how great is our God?! To bless me with a family that he knows is what I need. I think about the future, and you know what, they may never join the church while they're here on earth but all I can do is love them! I'm so thankful for the plan of salvation, and that God knows EVERYONE. There hearts may not be prepared to hear it right now, but in Heavenly Fathers time they will. 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

(Jeremiah 29:11)