Following the Instructions

"And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away." - 2 Nephi 2:13

Have you ever tried building a model airplane?  It's a fun activity that I tried once, when I was a teenager.  I built a UH-1 Helicopter that I received as a Christmas present one year.  I spent up to a week building it.  One thing I followed close attention to was the Building Manuel.  I did everything I could to make sure every piece was in the right place.  As I neared the completion of my model, I made a mistake.  I was so excited to complete my model that I accidentally put one of the few armaments, that was included, on the wrong way.  I put the nose mounted grenade launcher upside down.  When I realized the problem, the glue was already set and I could not fix the problem that had just happened.


We are going to experience many things in this life.  It's just like we are building a model plane.  Each of our choices effects the outcome of our life.  Our choices will also effect the people around us.  Not all choices are going to hurt someone.  But there are ones that will.  Dirty habits such as drinking, pornography and drugs damage important relationships that are needed in our life.  Families are broken, relationships are dashed, and friends are lost as a result of these poor choices.  God has revealed his word to the Prophets.  They then tell us what needs to be done.  They give us the basic building instructions for our lives. When we choose to disregard them as nonsense or unnecessary ideas for the time, we are ignoring the important building instructions needed for our development.  Their words are recorded in the Scriptures.  Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon hold the basic message revealed to the Prophets.

The Lord has said that there is a set law that was made before the earth was even created.  Through this law all blessings are based from.  If we do not keep the laws set down, by God, then we are no longer "entitled to those laws and the contract is void (D&C 130:20-21).  Just like that.  If we are not willing to follow the directions given, we cannot expect the happiness we are searching for.  Because it wasn't promised to look like a finished model.  Remember, by following God's commandments to us = Happiness.  Disregard to those commandments = misery.

When we obey God's commandments, and listen to the counsel given to us by the prophets, we will find lasting happiness grow in our lives.  We have the choice to choose between good and evil.  Please make the right choice.  God and Satan are competing for your attention.  Satan will lead us down to misery while God leads us to happiness.  Make the choices that will not harm you or others.  If you have ever done anything wrong, fix it.  And do it before the glue sets, and it becomes even harder to repair.  The finishing results that are most benificial come from following the basic instructions.  That is a promise.

Fortification for the Soul (Part 2: Weapons)



(Continuation of Fortification for the Soul (Part 1: Walls and Towers)

 



(Ephesians 6:11-18)



Once all the fortifications were built and ready, weapons were made to defend the city.  Without weapons the defences are just simple buildings.  We need weapons in life, but I'm not talking about literal weapons that kill.  God has given us special weapons to fight against the adversary.  It is stronger than any weapon formed by man.  We can find those weapons through daily scripture study.  Listening to the prophets, maintaining good moral standards and following God's commandments help us find stronger weapons and keep them sharp.  The scripture point to Christ who is the creator of our weapons (John 5:39).



(1 Nephi 15:24,
Heb. 4:12)



We will also be given "armor" as we apply the principles and commandments we are given and follow them. This is a continual process.  We must always strengthen our defences and never waver from it.  As we do so Satan can no longer triumph over us and will be forced to turn away in defeat.  Our spirits our kept safe and we can return to God knowing we have won the fight against Satan.



(Jeremiah 4:14)

 One other thing that Moroni did that help make sure his defences were strong is found in verses 9, 7, & 11-12.  He gathered his armies and drove out the Lamanites in certain places in the land to avoid having bulges in his lines.  Any bulges in Moroni's lines would have exhausted more resources to defend those cities on the other side.  It was not a matter of conquest.  We can have bulges in our lives, it is by allowing certain vices to remain in our lives while expecting to live God's law (Matt. 6:24).  Look at the image on the right.  As you can see that is a major mess.  Someone should have emptied that trash can out a long time ago.  When we allow any kind of vice to stay with us it's like letting our trash can go over the top.  We need to "empty out the garbage" in our lives.  It may mean tossing out those magazines, changing what we listen too or watch, picking more modest clothing or literally throwing out alcohol and tobacco in order to be in harmony with God.  It may not be easy to clean up the trash, but everything will look so much better.  Believe me, a clean house is better than a dirty one.  And it doesn't invite pests either.

Now that we have our defences made, and our bulges removed we are more than ready to fight Satan.  This is a battle we are sure to win.  Why?  Because you have been fortified and prepared to follow God so that Satan no longer has hold on you.

Enduring not Racing

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfast faith 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."
-2 Nephi 31:20

Life is not a race, but a test of endurance.

One of my favorite memories was running the St. George Marathon.  It was 26.2 miles, and I ran it in 4:12:56.  It was my first marathon and it was quite an achievement, especially my time.  I spent a little more than a year training for this event, running 25-30+ miles a week including 5ks, 10ks, and an occasional half marathon.  It was long, it was hard at times, But it was fun, it was worth it and I am proud of that accomplishment.  Some things that helped me finish my marathon were: Pacing myself, Thinking Positively, Encouraging or serving others, and being Diligent to the end.  I like to see life as another marathon and these four ideas can help us in our "race" in life.

Pace (balance) yourself
To often people get caught up in life.  Everything is at a constant fast pace.  This will usually causes people to disregard certain things which would be of the most importance.  When you don't have a proper balance you will get frustrated and worn out.  A proper balance will include: Family, God, Prayer, and daily scripture study.  Properly balancing yourself will place peace in your life.  It also makes frustrations easier to handle.  (Mosiah 4:17) If I would have sprinted the whole marathon on what training I had, I most likely would have quit at mile 5.  When we are constantly hurrying about life and trying to get everything done at once our own "stamina" would eventually break and then we become bitterly frustrated.

Think Positively
In Matt. 5:12 it says, "Rejoice, and be exceeding(ly) glad: for great is your reward in heaven".  God doesn't want us to be gloomy and sad.  We have much to look forward to.  In a marathon negative thinking will slow even a well seasoned runner down.  I've noticed that when I'm feeling whiny I am really slow.  Life doesn't seem to have much of a purpose when I'm depressed.  When I'm happy I have a ton of energy and I can plow right through obstacles.  It is the same for everyone. So be happy!

Serve Others
I've been told the best way to shoo gloom out the door is by service.  When I serve I feel good.  When I ran my marathon, I would do everything I could to encourage the people I past to keep moving forward.  When I did that I forgot how sore I was and made a few friends on the way.  When we reach out a serve those around us we brighten our day and help lift up the heads that hang down.  I can guarantee that life will mean so much more when you use it to help others because "when you are in the service of your fellow beings you are in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17, Matt 25:40).  We can be God's hands on earth and help them find joy in their trials.

Be Diligent to the end!
There is a point where most runners hit a point where they just want to give up.  This is often called a wall because that's what it feels like; hitting a brick wall.  There will be times where we will hit a "wall" in our life.  Times where we feel like we can't go on.  Balance, Optimism, and service is a continual process.  There will be times where you hit a "wall" and you just want to say, "I've had enough, this is to hard."  Don't quit.  God has told us to "be strong and of good courage (Joshua 1:9." Life is not an eternal torment, it is to help us grow.  God gave us difficult experiences for our good, we just need to press forward with faith (D&C 121:7-8, 122:7).  When I crossed that finish line I felt like I had accomplished a great task, and it felt good.

The end is always there, and worth the trial.

Life is going to be hard, but who said it couldn't be worth it?  Just like I felt proud of my accomplishment after that 26.2 mile test of endurance we will feel great joy knowing that we came, saw and conquered our trials with high heads.  Our reward is a great reward, more than we can imagine.  All we have to do is press forward with faith and God will reward with eternal life.