Celebrating Jesus Christ's Birth

This past week I gave a lesson in Gospel Doctrine about Jesus Christ. I asked what I believe to be two very important questions.

#1 Why do we celebrate Christmas?

The answer: To celebrate Christ's birth.

#2 Who is Jesus Christ that we should celebrate His birth?

That question received a couple of surprised looks ...perhaps "aghast" looks fits better. I think they couldn't believe that I would dare ask such a thing. But I asked because so many of us just run through Christmas at Mach 10 without stopping to comprehend--and I mean truly comprehend--why we are celebrating Christmas in the first place.

So who is Jesus Christ that we should celebrate His birth?

I have a four part answer for this question.

#1 Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Jesus Christ is the only person who has ever walked, or will ever walk, the earth that has a divine and immortal father and a fair and mortal mother. We are, of course, all spirit children of our Father in Heaven but Jesus is the only one that is the literal Son of God. We celebrate the birth of our brother who is literally divine.

#2 Jesus Christ has a perfect character.

Jesus Christ's character as related by prophets in both the Middle East (Bible) and the Americas (Book of Mormon) is beyond reproach. He is loving, kind, merciful, unchanging, all powerful, creator of all, all knowing, truth, and patience. The list, of course, goes on and on. If anyone had reason to boast of His abilities it was He but that brings me to one of the most fantastic traits of all: humility. He was the most humble of men and tolerated abuse, criticism, loathing, and unfair judgement though He walked perfectly in every way. We celebrate the birth of our brother because He was perfect.

#3 Jesus Christ saved us all.

Church going people often say that they have been "saved" through Jesus Christ. But what exactly does that mean? How did Christ save us? Well there are two ways that we have need of being saved. #1 Spiritual death. #2 Physical death.

Spiritual death comes whenever we sin. When we sin we are doing things against God's will, and thus, we cannot stay close to Him. So every time we sin we move farther away from where God is. Every time we create distance between God and ourselves through sin we are dying spiritually. Christ overcame this death through the Atonement. The Atonement is when Christ paid the price for our sins. This occurred during the time Christ spent in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. He suffered great physical and emotional pain that is so far beyond our comprehension that it is hard to wrap our minds around just how painful that could have really been. This was all on our behalf. Christ knew that the price of our sins was simply too great for us to pay ourselves. He knew we needed someone to intervene and pay the price for us. So He did. Of course, there is a stipulation. He didn't just pay the price for us and we can go on our merry way. No...The Atonement only works and He only paid the price for our sins if we are willing to repent. (For more on repentance, there is another blog I wrote specifying the exact steps needed to truly repent of our sins).

Physical death comes when we die. It means that our spirit and our body separate. (In another blog, I discussed this in depth indicating that the spirit goes to the Spirit World and the body goes into the grave). Christ overcame physical death through the resurrection. He rose after the third day of His death with a new and immortal flesh and bone body and lead the way for many others to also gain an immortal soul (spirit and immortal body). If Christ had not resurrected our spirit and body would stay separated after this life forever. We would never know the joys of having a body again like being able to taste, touch, smell, etc... But Christ did overcome death through the resurrection and we will have the opportunity to do the same.

We celebrate the birth of our brother because He saved us from spiritual and physical death.

#4 Jesus Christ is our example.

Not only did Christ save us but He also showed us the way to get back to our Heavenly Father. He was our example. He was baptized by John the Baptist though He had no need of baptism. He always followed the will of our Heavenly Father even though He had his agency to choose another way. He came to this earth and received a body, exercised faith, and chose the right...always. He loved everyone...the sinners and righteous alike. He taught us what kind of men and women we should be. We should be even as He is. He showed us the way in all things. We celebrate the birth of our brother because He is our exemplar.

We celebrate Christmas because we are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. We celebrate Jesus Christ because He is the literal Son of God, He is flawless in character, He saved us from ourselves, and He showed us what we needed to do to get back to our Heavenly Father. The "good news" and "great tidings" that the angel proclaimed was that HOPE was born that day in Bethlehem. Hope for a better world, hope that we can change our ways, hope that we can become even as Christ is, hope that we can return to our Heavenly Father someday. Jesus Christ is our hope...our only hope. We celebrate the bright and wonderful and amazing day that He came into the world! That is why we celebrate Christmas!! Always remember...never forget.

No Ordinary Birthday

Today is my birthday. Though I don't consider myself to be very old, birthdays have started to feel more and more like any other day in the year. Wait! I know what you are thinking but don't get me wrong! My family always remembers to call and send gifts. There's usually a nice supper and great cake. I am absolutely appreciative of it all! I remember a time, though, when I would start counting down to my birthday a month or two before my own celebrated date. I would think about whether I'd be having a party, what kinds of gifts I'd get, etc... But life just seems to have become so busy that often my birthday is upon me before I even realize it. People start asking me what I want for my birthday and I have no idea what to tell them because I haven't even thought about it. This one almost caught me by surprise again but just recently I realized that the impact of this birthday will be quite different for me than those that have gone before.

Recently, my family received a little scripture reading guide from some of the leaders at church. The assigned scripture passages are all about Christ from birth to death. The guide itself is set up like an advent calendar where you have to read the passage for that day and then mark it with a star sticker once its been read. So we've been reading about Christ for several nights. Tonight, after our reading, I realized that this was not going to be an ordinary birthday for me.

Today, I turn 33. This is the same age that our Savior was when He prayed and suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and was crucified on the cross. My mind struggles with the idea that I am the same age that He was when He was at the pinnacle of His time here on earth. He was so very wise, all-knowing, mature, dedicated, compassionate, loving, forgiving, just, and the list goes on. I try to think about whether I know of any others my age that might have these characteristics. Without meaning to disrespect anyone, I don't couldn't think of anyone that I know that looks like they are 33 but speaks and acts with the wisdom and experience of someone age 99. What an amazing man!

The one thought that keeps going through my head is "He was the same age as me. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and the on the cross." I couldn't have done that. His only "reward" for His sacrifice was the remote possibility that we might want to change for the better by repenting and thus coming closer to Him and then finally returning to Him.

I stand all amazed....

It All Comes From Above

When we make any increase monetarily, the Lord expects us to give 10% of it to Him. Many churches practice this law which is known as "tithing." There are three pertinent questions that are relevant to this law.

#1 What is the purpose of the law of tithing?

#2 Where does this money go after a member of the church pays it?

#3 What blessings can we receive if this law is followed?

The purpose of paying tithing is not because God needs money. He clearly does not. No, the law of tithing is a law of obedience. The Lord wants to know that we are going to obey His commandment to pay tithing even when it is very hard to do so. Money does make the world go 'round. Many people set their hearts on gaining more and more money. However, their love of money can be to their detriment and demise. They will want more and more but they will never fill satisfied. This law helps all of us never get to this point. It helps teach us how to part with some of our money (and really 10% is so little in comparison to what we keep for ourselves) and give it to the Lord. Especially in these hard economic times, tithing is a hard law to follow. Are we willing to pay our 10% to God before we pay anything else? The law of tithing requires a lot of faith in our Heavenly Father but if we love Him we will obey the law.

Every church differs in what they do with the tithing. However, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tithing is not used to pay people but to provide people with the things they need to continue to worship God. In other words, the money is not used to pay clergy. The money IS used to pay for such things as teaching manuals and the building and maintenance of church buildings.

The blessings we receive from obeying the law of tithing or innumerable. Most notably, if we pay our tithing we never want for anything. All our needs will be met. It is a large leap of faith to pay our tithing before buying groceries or paying a pressing bill or even buying that shiny new object in the store. However, if tithing is paid first then the Lord blesses us with all that we need and more. In Malachi 3:10 it states "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." If we simply demonstrate our obedience to the Lord and pay our tithing (10% of our gross income and any other monetary increases we may receive) then the blessings will go above and beyond that 10% in ways that we can't imagine. So much so in fact that there "...shall not be room enough to receive it."

A quick story here. An religious instructor of mine one time related his own story of the blessings of paying tithing. He said that he and his wife had committed to pay their tithing diligently and "prove" the Lord as to whether they truly would receive that 10% back and more. He said that not long after that someone was getting rid of their couches and so they took them into his home. Then someone else gave them a lawnmower that was broken which he was able to easily fix. Things went on like that and then around about one year after they made their commitment, he was in his garage and was trying to maneuver around all the stuff they had stored there and he indicated that they had so much stuff in their garage that he could barely move. I'm paraphrasing, of course, but the point is that in a very literal sense that scripture of not having room enough to store their blessings was very real and had come to pass for them.

Paying our tithing pays dividends spiritually and temporally in amounts that we cannot possibly comprehend until we live the law. We simply have to obey the law of tithing to receive them.

One In Purpose

The Godhead is made up of three separate and distinct individuals.

#1 God, the Father (Elohim)
#2 God, the Son (Jehovah)
#3 God, the Spirit

The scriptures often make mention that these three beings are "one." The conclusion then being that they are one in the same person. However, that is not the case. When it says that they are "one" it simply means that they are one in purpose. The Son would say the same thing as the Father would. The Spirit would say what the Son would. They all have the same purpose, same goal in helping us to return to our Father in Heaven. They are, however, very distinct beings. For instance, when it came to the creation of the world...

-- God, the Father, was the architect.
-- God, the Son, was the engineer.

God, the Spirit, has a very unique job in that he testifies of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whenever someone testifies of Heavenly Father and the Savior, the Spirit touches their hearts with feelings of peace, love, compassion and their minds with clarity and perspective. Though God, the Spirit, is a separate and distinct being, he is still able to touch many people at once. A good analogy of this is the sun. There is only one sun but the effects of the sun are felt by thousands and thousands at the same time. Well the Spirit works the same way. There is only one of him but the effects of him are felt by thousands.

I know that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct beings. I know that each one of them has a very important role to play in this plan of happiness called life. I know that they are one in purpose in all that they do.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

What's love got to do with it? Everything.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is all about love, and more specifically, the kind of love with no conditions. It is the pure love of Christ. This pure, unconditional love is called charity. The greatest demonstration of this love is Christ himself. He is a perfect being who made the perfect sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. In those two places, Christ took upon himself pain and suffering from all of our sins, illnesses, diseases, heart aches, and trauma. He suffered it all even though He was perfect. He made no mistakes. He had the gift to heal. He understood other men's hearts so He understood why they behaved the way they did. He was perfect and yet He made the ultimate sacrifice not just giving His life but suffering so extensively that we cannot comprehend the enormous amount of anguish he felt. All this was on our behalf. All of this was because He loves us so much we cannot possibly comprehend its measure. He suffered our sins. Not His because He had none. Yet He willingly, lovingly suffered our sins and mistakes. How is it possible that our elder brother, Jesus Christ, could love us so much? I've wondered before whether I was worth it to Him, and though I don't deserve it, I know the answer to that question is yes. Even when I don't feel like I am worth it, He unbelievably does. How are we so blessed and loved to have such an amazing and wondrous brother that would sacrifice Himself for us! He stood to gain nothing from this sacrifice except the possibility that we might choose to come back to Him and our Heavenly Father again someday. Knowing this makes me want to be so much more than I am. I do not want to let Him down. I want to return to be with Him someday so that I may fall to the floor and bathe His feet with my tears and kisses for all He did for me just so that I might have the chance to return to Him someday. Now, we must go forth and try to love as He did. It is a task that sometimes seems nearly impossible. To love someone as they are, mistakes and all, with no conditions attached. That is true love. We must strive to find this kind of love in our hearts for all whom we meet. Love has everything to do with everything!

We Can Be Participants in God's Powers

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much. Just like any parent He wants us to have what He has and more. Our Father in Heaven has generously allowed us to be participants in his powers. How you may ask? There are two ways.

#1 The power to act in God's name: The Priesthood.

#2 The power to create life: Procreation.

The priesthood is a wondrous power bestowed upon worthy male members of the Church of Jesus Christ. It is a power that allows worthy men to lay their hands upon the heads of those in need and bless them with health, courage, comfort, patience, and love in the name of Jesus Christ.

Procreation is an amazing and life-altering power given to women. It is a power that allows women to be co-creators in bringing life on this earth to Heavenly Father's spirit children.

What is important to understand is...

#1 How fantastic our Heavenly Father is for allowing us to be apart of such magnificent miracles that come through his powers of the priesthood and procreation.

#2 How imperative it is that men and women recognize that they cannot spiritually progress in these powers without each other. In other words, men cannot exercise their priesthood without the help of women to counsel with them in all things spiritual and women cannot exercise procreation without the help of men. So while each power has a primary role player (i.e. the men are key in the priesthood and the women are key in procreation), neither power can be utilized without the assistance and support of the secondary role player.

#3 The blessings of the priesthood come not only to those that are served (i.e. receiving the blessing, ordinations, etc...) but to those that serve. The more the priesthood is used for the good and benefit of man, the more blessings those that worthily utilize the priesthood receive. According to the faith of those that receive the blessings, they can be healed, comforted, guided in ways that we could not have imagined without the power and blessings of the priesthood. How magnificent a power is this!

#4 The blessings of procreation is that through the power of God we are able to give life! With the aide of men, women are able to feel a marvelous and remarkable miracle growing within them. When a baby is born, they are the evidence of the power of life and as women, we are able to be apart of that. On top of that, we have the chance to be earthly parents to Heavenly Father's children. He is giving us a chance to feel what it is like for Him to be our parent. How amazing!! If you are a parent, think now of all the joys, trials, tribulations, elation that you have experienced with or because of your own children. Now realize that this relationship between parent and child is not new. It has always existed between us and our Father in Heaven. As our Father, He feels what we feel...happy when we are happy, sad when we are sad. He also knows the feelings of excitement at our progression and disappointment when we take a step back. Thanks to our Father in Heaven, we have the opportunity to feel the same about our own children. What an amazing gift He has given us!

If we desire to be apart of God's plan, we can be major participants in God's powers of the priesthood and procreation. Wonderful miracles that come through both of these powers occur all the time and we can be apart of it all if we so choose to do. I hope you do.

Christ's Church: The Restoration

The Apostasy (the time when Christ's church was taken from the earth) continued into the 1800's. There was still major confusion about which church one should join because no one knew how to read or interpret the scriptures correctly, and per man's choice, the heavens were still closed (i.e. there was no communication between God and man). Churches that differed in doctrine each claimed that they had the proper authority to act in God's name and that they were the Lord's true church. It was no wonder that the confusion of the people during that time continued to mount. However, there was one young humble boy who simply decided to pray to God to find out which church was true. The boy received an answer from God that none of the churches at that time was the Lord's true church. None of them had the authority to act in the Lord's name. This young boy was prepared and eventually called to be a Prophet of God. The young boy's name was Joseph Smith.

So then how was Christ's Church restored?

(It is important to note here that restoration means putting things back they way they were before whereas reformation means to change things from the way they were before).

#1 With Joseph Smith, prophets and apostles were once again called to lead and guide the Church of Jesus Christ.

#2 This prophet (Joseph Smith) and the other apostles that were called, received the holy priesthood (the power/authority to act in God's name) through the resurrected beings of John the Baptist (the Aaronic Priesthood) and through Peter, James, and John (the Melchizedek Priesthood).

#3 With this authority, the prophet Joseph Smith and the apostles were now able to receive revelation.

#4 With this authority, the prophet and apostles were able to write their revelations into scripture as well as interpret correctly the scriptures already in existence.

Thus the four pillars of The Church of Jesus Christ were established once again, just as they had been in Christ's day. The church today is called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The addition of "Latter-day Saints" simply acknowledges that the Apostasy occurred. It is still Christ's church; restored to the exact manner in which it was established while Christ walked the earth. It is Christ's church and Christ is at the head of it.

Christ's Church: The Fall

After Christ's death and resurrection, His church remained on the earth for awhile lead by those He called and ordained to be prophets and apostles. However, the wickedness of the people during that time escalated until the church was removed from the earth completely. This is called the Apostasy.

What lead to the Apostasy?

#1 The prophets and apostles that were called by Christ to lead His church were killed by the wicked.

#2 Thus, there was no one to hold the priesthood (the power to act in the name of God).

#3 And thus, there was no one who had the authority to receive revelations from God on behalf of the church.

#4 With no guidance by those who would have had the authority, there was no one to interpret the scriptures correctly.

Without the four pillars upon which to stand, the Church of Jesus Christ fell. The heavens were closed not by God's choice but by man's. For quite some time, the world lived in spiritual darkness. Many know this as the Dark Ages. Little to no progression was made and people were interpreting incorrectly the only divine guidance that had been left: the scriptures. Random groups began to form and hold meetings claiming that they were interpreting the scriptures correctly and that they had the authority to act in God's name. However, this was not so, and thus, the world was in a state of spiritual confusion and chaos for many many years.

Christ's Church: The Establishment

When Christ was here upon the earth so many years ago, He established and organized His church.

How was it organized? I thought you would never ask.

#1 Prophets (mouthpieces for God) and apostles were called (summoned).

#2 Upon these prophets and apostles, the holy priesthood (the power to act in the name of God) was conferred so that they might lead Christ's church upon His death and resurrection.

#3 The prophets and apostles received revelation (inspiration from God) on behalf of the church.

#4 The revelations from the prophets and apostles were written in what we know as the scriptures.

Upon these four pillars, Christ established His church. It was called The Church of Jesus Christ as Christ was at the head of it.

The Penitent Man Kneels Before God

Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes we make big mistakes and sometimes we make small mistakes. Sometimes they hurt other people and sometimes they only hurt you. Sins fall under all of these categories. A sin is when we have knowledge of a commandment of God and we choose to break it anyway. So as we all have broken, are breaking, or will break a commandment at some point (since we are not perfect and we all make mistakes) it would greatly behoove us all to know how to get back in the good graces of God. So, how do we do that? The short answer: We repent.

So what is repentance anyway? What is required of us to be forgiven of our mistakes, our sins? Repentance is not simply feeling remorseful as the good old dictionary would have us believe. Repentance is actually a process. The length and extent of this process depends upon the individual, their sin, and their circumstances. However, no matter how great or small the sin, the same process must be followed (sorry, you can't skip any steps) in order to be forgiven and come closer spiritually to our Heavenly Father again.

The Repentance Process

#1 Recognize --> We must recognize that we have done something wrong.

It is important to note that if we do not know that something is wrong then we are not responsible for it. However, once we have the knowledge that something is wrong, we must obey or it is sin.

#2 Remorse --> We must feel badly for what we have done that is wrong.

I once went to an amusement park without my mother's permission. Once at home, my mom expressed how upset she was and at the end of it asked in exasperation "Was it worth it?" I thought about that for a moment and then defiantly said, "Yeah, it was." That really was the wrong answer. My punishment was increased because I showed no remorse for my disobedience.

#3 Ask Forgiveness --> We must ask Heavenly Father's forgiveness for our wrongdoing.

The penitent man kneels in humility and supplicates God to forgive him. Enos did this all day and night. (Enos 1:1-27)

#4 Restitution --> To the best of our ability, we must try to restore things back to the way they were before we committed the sin.

If you steal a pack of Rolos candy from the store when you are a young kid than you must give it back (no matter how many you have eaten) and tell the people at the store that you are so very sorry. (Not saying this ever happened....just thought an illustration would be appropriate here).

#5 Abandon --> We must abandon the sin...never to do it again.

If we don't abandon the sin, then we haven't repented.

**True repentance means following all these steps to the very end. We must eliminate each sin, one by one, in our lives in order to become cleaner and more worthy to have God's guidance and to return to Him again after this life. Every sin committed must pass through this process or it will return again into our lives and we will continue to distance ourselves from Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Repentance is our part, Christ's sacrifice is His. He makes up the difference between what we are capable of and where we should be. So let's do our part. All our sins do not have to be eliminated all at once, but one by one we must address our sins, repent, and discard them in order for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father again someday. Repentance is not an easy road but it will be worth it.

The Gratitude Attitude

On a day like Thanksgiving, everyone's thoughts naturally tend to turn toward those things for which they are grateful. We tell each other that we are grateful that we have a home to live in, food on the table, and the love of one another. However, what happens the other 364 days of the year? Do we maintain this same attitude full of gratitude? Do we express it everyday as we do on this special day of giving thanks? Unfortunately, many of us do not. Yet if we always count our blessings it is hard to be anything but always grateful. Listing out our blessings on paper everyday is not a new idea but it is a wise one. It helps us to remember all that has been given to us. It also takes the sting out of anything negative that may have happened to us that day. Perhaps, it helps us to see blessings in even the direst of circumstances whatever they may be. It definitely helps us to remember that Heavenly Father is there and is constantly showering us with blessings and goodness and His love. Though the world continues to lack appreciation for the goodness that does exist on earth, we can blaze our own trail of thankfulness and hopefully leave a positive wake of gratitude in our path for others to both see and follow. Be grateful. Always. And let others know it. Gratitude is always the best attitude.

God Cares About Your Camera

During one of the many plane flights I had to take during my religious mission, I had the opportunity to chat with a gentleman sitting next to me. We discussed a few things and then the topic turned to prayer. He proceeded to tell me a story about how his wife had lost her camera one day. It was very important that she find it because there was some event that she just didn't want to have pass her by without saving the moment. The man told me that his wife then prayed to God that He might help her find the camera. I was surprised by this man's annoyance at the prospect of his wife praying to God for something that he thought was so small and insignificant. Baffled, he began questioning out loud that doesn't God have other more important things to worry about like hunger in Africa then his wife's camera? I smiled slightly and told him, "Well, it is important to God because it is important to your wife."

For some people, the concept of a loving Heavenly Father that knows who we are by name and that is interested in us as individuals is so hard to fathom. To them God is this omniscient being that can't be reached...can't be touched. While God is all knowing and all powerful, He is also our Father in Heaven. We are His children and He loves us. He wants us to talk with Him all the time and He wants us to be happy! There is hunger in Africa and Heavenly Father does care about the people that are suffering there. In addition to that, there are also major cataclysmic events all over the world that leave people without food, homes, water, electricity, and most tragically, family. He knows about them all and hears the prayers of all those that are reaching out to Him in their time of need. However, He also cares about you and me and all the things that make us worry and fret or feel frustrated, powerless, scared, or hurt. In the world's eyes, the events that transpire in our personal lives might not seem as dire or urgent as the aforementioned tragedies. Yet to the person that is experiencing them in that moment, there is nothing more pressing, nothing more important then their need. Father in Heaven knows this and because He loves us He tends to it all with love and fervor. In other words, because something is important to us, it is important to Heavenly Father. Whether it is the starving people of Africa or a desperate wife trying to find her camera, God knows, He cares, and He wants to help because we are all His children. For this reason, it is imperative that we talk with Heavenly Father always and about everything. Only in doing so can we get to know Him even better as He guides our lives through our diligent and thoughtful prayers.

In Alma 37:37, we are given the following instructions regarding prayer. "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."

The Perfect Body

Ouch! My head! Ouch! My body! Will the aches and pains of illness and growing older never end? I am not that old. After all, my brain still tells me that I'm 16. Yet, there is definitely something different about that person staring back at me from the mirror. When did she get so much older? Why can't she move, bend, and twist the way she used to? I try to get her to perform the same acts of yesteryear but her body just doesn't want to listen. It also seems like illnesses incapacitate her longer the older she gets. How is that fair? Perhaps it is a trade off. As you grow older and gain more knowledge about life you pay the price with the aging of your body. Knowledge vs. Physical Prowess. Which would you prefer? It seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? Until your legs ache with every move. Until you get a crick in your neck or sharp pain in your back.

There is still hope for all of us feeling the physical effects of getting older. The Lord always provides hope. Right now, I consist of a spirit and a body. Combined, they allow me to live a life rich in both spiritual and physical experiences. Aging of the body is just part of the process and believe it or not is considered progression not regression. It is not necessarily a fun part of progression, mind you, but it is a part of the process nonetheless.

As death is a necessary part of God's plan, all of us will pass through it. No exceptions. So what happens when we die? Well, our spirit and body separate. We already know that the body goes into a grave in the earth. But where does the spirit go? It is important to understand that we do not cease to exist when we die. If you have ever studied physics you know that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. We are comprised of energy that is for sure (just ask any mother with children). So when we die our energy (spirit) goes to another place to rest for awhile from all the trials and tribulations suffered through during earthly life. We'll call this place the Spirit World. It is a place of peace where we can enjoy mental and spiritual tranquility. In other words, we don't have to worry about this or that, be stressed, or wonder if we are doing our part anymore. It is a time and place of peace, free from strife. We also don't have our bodies while there so there is no real physical pain to suffer. So is that it? Our spirits and bodies stay separated forever? Of course not! Heavenly Father is so much more generous than that!

There will come a time when our spirits and bodies will reunite. It is called the resurrection. Except this time, rather than have bodies that are ravaged by illnesses, diseases, and pain, we will have perfect bodies. No aches, no pains, no scars, no diseases....perfect. A perfect body. Not a hair on our heads will be missing. Amulek, a servant of the Lord, taught that

"43 The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame...

44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame..." (Alma 11:43-44).

What a fantastic promise! What a generous gift! The hope that we will someday have a perfect and immortal (unable to die) body. How amazing!

If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we would never be able to appreciate such a marvelous endowment from our Heavenly Father if we didn't first pass through the pains of having an imperfect and mortal body. So I will tolerate all my aches and pains because I know someday this body is going to be the perfect body for me!

Early To Rise Makes You Wise

There are few people who have not heard the common adage "early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" (Benjamin Franklin). There are two things that strike me about this quote.

#1 Many have heard it, few practice it.

#2 Many strive to be healthy and wealthy but the most powerful of the three (becoming wise) receives very little attention.

It seems to me that the rewards we get for simply going to bed earlier and getting up earlier are amazingly much more grandiose than what is actually required of us to receive them. Yet...so many of us simply don't do it. What is so important that we must stay up just a little bit longer and which in turn makes us sleep a little bit later in the mornings? I recognize that there are definitely times where we might need to stay up but shouldn't it be the exception rather than the rule?

Let's now add to the confusion of that question and further wonder why in the world we're not doing it so that we can become wise! Being wise isn't just about acquiring or having knowledge. It is about having knowledge and knowing when, why, and how best to use that knowledge. I have knowledge about some things but I certainly don't always know when or how to use it. The wisest of us always thinks before acting, always ponders before responding, and rarely lives with regrets of what they should or shouldn't have said or done. Oh wisdom, why doest thou hide thy face from me? Where might I find thee?

Oh right! I must get up early and go to bed early and there I shall find thee waiting for me!

Oh....and one more thing. Though this adage has been popularly passed down from Benjamin Franklin to us, he is not the original architect of this intelligent advice. In D & C 88:124 the Lord states "...cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated." Now that is wisdom.

Acting In His Name

During my childhood, the Lord saw fit to bless me, my mom, and my sister with incredibly faithful home teachers. Being assigned to be a visiting teacher myself, I know how hard it can be to squeeze in a visit to your teachees on the last day of the last month of the year. So it has always amazed me that we had such dedicated home teachers. And it wasn't just a one time fluke either. Every pair of home teachers that I can remember (which goes back to about age 7) were not only faithful but stuck with us for many many years at a time. Why were we so blessed? I'm not sure but I can tell you that it really made me appreciate the priesthood in ways that I could never have without them. With no priesthood in our own home, I would've missed out on receiving blessings of healing, peace, safety, comfort, and guidance. Thankfully, our home teachers were worthy priesthood holders. That is to say that they were worthy to act in the name of God. On his behalf, these dedicated home teachers fulfilled their duties by making sure that my mom, my sister, and I were doing well spiritually. One of them even became my surrogate grandfather whom I just adored. Now that I am older, I am so pleased to note that there are still men wholly committed to fulfilling their obligations as priesthood holders whether they are actually assigned to be my home teacher or not. I believe in the power of the priesthood (i.e. in the power to act in the name of God). Amazing and wonderful things happen when we call upon those priesthood holders whenever we need them. They will be blessed for performing an act of loving service while you will be blessed with love, comfort, peace, direction, or whatever it is that you seek from the Lord in righteousness. Remember this power and that it can be called upon at a moment's notice (not including drive time).

The Breaking Point

We've been taught that we will never be tried above that which we can bear. I believe that is true. However, I believe that the Lord will allow us to feel that we are right on the edge, right at the breaking point of what we can handle before stepping in to assist or rescue us. Just when we think we can't handle anymore and are about to cave, the burden is lifted, the light is seen, and our goal is attained. After a little while, we begin to wonder why we were in such turmoil during our trial. "It wasn't that bad" says our impeccably clear 20/20 hindsight vision. The point is that when you are in the middle of it ("it" being whatever trial you must experience), you can't see beyond the pain, suffering, frustration, etc...because you don't know how long its going to last. Many times during various trials, I attempted to negotiate with the Lord and convince him to tell me how much time needed to go by before the pain would cease. If I just knew how long I had to hold out then I knew that I could suffer through until that time because that meant there was a limit to it...an end to the pain/hurt/suffering. There's a scripture that caught my eye this week that speaks of this very thing and I leave it with you now as a reminder that the Lord won't test us beyond our limits but he will test up to them. It also shows us that he will always be leading the way .

D&C 78: 18

18 "And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours."

Repetition Is Key

I always hear the leaders of the church touch upon the same gospel topics again and again and again. As a teenager, many of us would groan that we were receiving another talk on this or another lesson on that. How wise our leaders were. As monotonous as it seemed to me as a teenager, those lessons that were repeated again and again are the very same ones that have stuck with me year after year. Every time our leaders spoke, it was a different story, aspect, or point of view regarding that certain principle of the gospel about which they were talking (AGAIN). With that said, gospel topics here will be repeated here and there. Every time the same topic is covered again, I assure you it won't be the same post. After any lessons I teach, I throw away my notes because the next time I have to give a lesson on that same topic I want it to be from the heart. Not prefabricated. Thus, it will be here also. Repetition is good and maybe (just maybe) this time it will touch your heart.