My Unanswered Question

I realized as I was praying to learn from the scriptures today - this was of great comfort to me -  I was taught that I am not alone in many of my life concerns, and I was reminded that my concerns are little in comparison to a person whom I am actually a lot like.  His name is Mormon. I am like Mormon because I am plagued with an unanswered question.  The question is - How is this all going to turn out for me as those I love?  As I pondered upon Mormon I realized a prophet of God had the same problem that I have - only his senerio was harder - He witnessed the ENTIRE destruction of those that He loves and then he was left to wonder what would happen to his own son?  HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW THINGS WERE GOING TO TURN OUT FOR HIS FAMILY... And yet, Mormon had this one great desire... That he could be of help in anyway possible and that " Perhaps " ( his righteous works, his compilation of writings and hope his son would follow his example that ) " someday might  profit them ".  Mormon didn't have prejudice or preconditions on whom he wanted the Book of Mormon to help, nor did he only worry about his own personal family circumstances,  he wanted to be a servant of the Lord for everyone.  I am incredibly thankful that Mormon's desire was fulfilled through Joseph Smith the prophet and because of our incomprehensibly merciful God and Savior whom allowed Joseph the gifts that he would need to do the work of bringing the Book of Mormon to light.  I am thankful that I can relate to such a wonderful man Mormon in someways and I am honored to be nicknamed after him - Mormon.  I am going to follow Mormon's example and hope and have faith that my scriptural writings will have benefit to anyone who will read them - to strengthen their belief in Jesus the Christ. The one whom changed me forever and holds my heart.  If God can work the miracle of bringing this prophets compliations to light - what can He not do for you and I that we righteously need to serve Him at a higher capacity?  Nothing - there is nothing that he can't do and I will follow Mormon's example.  I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.  MORMON 1:  1 And now I, Mormon, being about to deliver up the record which I have been making into the hands of my son Moroni, behold I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites.  2 And it is many hundred years after the coming of Christ that I deliver these records into the hands of my son; and it supposeth me that he will witness the entire destruction of my people. But may God grant that he may survive them, that he may write somewhat concerning them, and somewhat concerning Christ, that perhaps some day it may profit them.

Administer Spiritually

When reading in Mosiah I have delighted in the many messages given by King Benjamin. Most especially his message to not just give to the poor and the needy but to also administer relief not only temporally but SPIRITUALLY to individuals stuck out to me. I have considered what this means to administer spiritually? Of course this means to bless them with the power of the Priesthood and administer consecrated oil upon their heads, but I think there is also a deeper meaning; Elder Ballard shares a wonderful scripture account which exemplifies what it means to administer spiritually. In his recent General Conference address titled. " Following Up" Ballard shares from the book of Acts, chapter 3: “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple. … And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John ask of them alms. And fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” But Peter didn’t stop at the blessing. The scriptural narrative next tells us that “he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength." "And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.” In other words, Peter didn’t simply invoke his priesthood authority and invite the man to rise up and walk. He also followed up on his invitation by reaching out to the man, taking him by the right hand, lifting him up, and then walking with him into the temple. From this we see that we can spiritually administer by reaching and taking others hands to become closer to Christ. We do this as we take our spouses and children's hands and initiate family scripture study. We do this as we hold family prayer twice daily. We spiritually administer when we bring others to the temple and church activities. Another thought that I had in regards to spiritually administering to others was the recollection of the times that I have felt prompted and stretched by the spirit to recognize that if I FIRST am not spiritual, then I will not be able to administer spiritually to my family or anyone. I remembered those times that I sought to help my children have spiritual experiences that would strengthen their testimonies, and then the Spirit reminded me that if I had my own spiritual revelation and experiences that would be the best means to also help my children and spouse. I am thankful for the witness that we have from King Benjamin that we will be if greatest strength to others as we lead them by example. I am thankful to know that a portion of our giving is not only temporal, but also spiritual. No matter how much or how little money that we have to help others, I know that I can still be of help to others with my testimony of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ.Amen. Mosiah 4: 26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.

Lose Yourself to Find Yourself

              Lose Yourself – To Find Yourself – Emily Turano – Putting it all Together

In Matt. 16: 24-25 Jesus teaches that if we lost our lives then we will actually find our lives. We find our lives as we follow Jesus instructions to lose our lives because when we give up the things that we may want to spend our time on , rather than seeking first the kingdom of God, we risk not having eternal life.

I have had very personal experiences in which I was prompted to let go of my worries, my desires in life and just follow the promptings of the spirit, trust in the Lord and seek solely to do His will. As I did this I was healed from all of my anxieties, and eventually was blessed beyond measure to find the most joy in life than I could have ever imagined had I not done this.

Awaking at night with racing heart, and chest pain could be proof that one is due for a doctor appointment?  Pain and discomfort seem unlikely symptoms to change one’s life for good? Yet, finding myself in panic at night, and uncontrollable nervousness throughout the day, was one of the best experiences of my life.               

 Becoming aware of my inability to control serious life situations, took over my life for a time. The body has a magnificent way of manifesting deeply en rooted emotions to the conscious mind, through physical reactions. This was the cause of my sudden anxiety disorder emerging. This was also the beginning of a new found truth that I would soon discover.  The truth that” if we lose ourselves, we shall find ourselves”, is something that I have learned from having an anxiety disorder.              

  I was prompted to walk into a random door, as I was going to the doctor, in order to determine why I had this sudden onset of discomfort? Upon being told by the receptionist that the office that I had entered was the enrollment center to become a Certified Nurse’s Assistant, I immediately enrolled.            

  Although I could barely function in my own life at the time, I followed the prompting that  I  had to “lose myself “and begin a journey to take care of others. After my schooling, as I began caring for extremely ill patients in the hospital, my symptoms of a racing heart, and extreme nervousness suddenly seemed like a blessing. I was suddenly thankful that I was only experiencing anxiety, and that I was not dealing with deadly illness, as many of my patients were.            

  After about six-months of working in a hospital, and caring for very ill patients, I suddenly didn’t care that I was waking up at night with a racing heart, or that I was often very nervous during the day; I was just glad to be alive. This I believe; when you lose yourself, you shall find yourself. (Luke 17:33)