Love of God

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the power of the Love of God. Often times I find myself walking around and getting a feeling of doubt and despair and wondering, "Why? Where is that coming from?" I know that the opposite of Faith is Fear and that all doubt and despair comes from the adversary. This leads me to believe that everytime I feel this doubt or despair come upon me it is because I have lost a little Faith and let some Fear come into me. Some darkness has crept into my temple. How do we overcome this though? It seems like there is a lot of opposition to those who seek to do good. I have come to find out that the only way I can overcome the trials and tribulations of the world is through our Savior Jesus Christ. He and His Father, Heavenly Father, have a perfect love for each one of us. This love has the power to do amazing things.

I did a study on the power of God recently and found some pretty cool things. I will post my notes below:
I looked for a definition of Love in the dictionary and this is one that I liked and have focused on.
Websters: Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for others.
I also turned to a scripture in the Book of Mormon for some more insights.
Moroni 7:45, 47-48
- Charity is the pure love of Christ.
- Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily   provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
- CHARITY NEVER FAILETH
How awesome is that! If we do everything out of pure love we will never fail.
- We must pray to the Father with all the energy of heart that we may be filled with this love.
- God bestows this love upon those who are true followers of Jesus Christ.
After I read this scripture I turned to the definition of Love in True to the Faith.
True to the Faith
- Our love for those around us increases when we REMEMBER that we are all children of God.
I think the key word in there is remember. It is an action to remember something and we must act to always remember that everyone around us is a child of God. If we do this we will be able to develop greater love and in turn feel greater love from our Heavenly Father.
I also turned to another scripture for some more insights on the Love of God.
1 Nephi 11: 22-23
- The Tree of Life is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men.
- The Love of God is most desirable above all other things.
- The Love of God is most joyous to the soul.
So the Love of God sounds pretty good... How do we find it? For this I turned to a talk that my sister sent me called The Power of God's Love.
The Power of God's Love - Elder John Groberg
Elder Groberg did an amazing job of explaining how God's love can help us and how we can obtain it. Here are some things that I liked.
- The thought of all of God's blessings is so inspiring and satisfying that any physical discomfort fades away.
- When we understand who God is, who we are, how He loves us, and what His plan is for us, fear evaporates.
This gets back to how we get rid of that Fear that periodically comes upon us. Understanding, Gratitude for that understanding, and Remembrance are the keys to overcoming Fear.
This next idea is something that hit me really hard.
- Our joy now and forever is inextricably tied to our capacity to love.
We receive Grace for Grace. If we can more fully have and show love to others we will receive more love from God and others. This in turn causes us to have joy.
- Being filled with God's love is the most joyous of all things and is worth every cost.
There is nothing worth more than Eternal Happiness. Why would we even entertain the thought of jeopardizing it through sin?
- Never underestimate the power of true love, for it knows no barriers.
This last comment is something I would like put down in order to gather the ideas and opinions of others.
- When we are ready, His pure love instantly moves across time and space, reaches down and pulls us up from the depths of any tumultuous sea of darkness, sin, sorrow, death, or despair we may find ourselves in and brings us into the light and life and love of eternity.
My question is this, how do we become ready to experience this spectacular Love in our lives? What can we do to more fully apply the power of the Atonement in our lives?
Let me know what you think and I look forward to further study and future comments on this subject.

Wait a little longer

Developing a stronger testimony has been on my mind the last little while. I feel like my testimony has grown immensely in the last year or so but I want it to be stronger. Sometimes I struggle with the fact that a testimony isnt on the dollar menu. It is something we have to work for and it takes a long time to acquire. I was doing a study on patience this morning and a few scriptures hit me really hard.
 In Alma 32:41-43 it reads, "41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with ^apatience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree ^bspringing up unto everlasting life.

  42 And because of your ^adiligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the ^bfruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

  43 Then, my brethren, ye shall ^areap the ^brewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth ^cfruit unto you. "

In order to develop a testimony we must diligently exercise our faith. We must also be patient with the process. That is something that has never stood out to me before. If you arnt patient with the growth process of a testimony then you will not grow. You can be as diligent as you want but if you dont have patience it availeth nothing. Patience in this sense means enduring delay with a positive and hopeful attitude. How many times do we go day to day doing things just to do them but never having a positive and hopeful attitude? I know I have way to many of those days. If we can look forward with "a perfect brightness of hope" through all trial or tribulation, our understanding of God and His plan will grow into deeply rooted knowledge. Our testimony's will become firm and unshaken. We will make it back to Heavenly Father. Like my dad always tells me, "Be patient with yourself, you are progressing nicely."

Gratitude

Recently I have been perplexed by the idea of more fully opening my heart to the power of the Atonement. I know that if we do we can find more happiness. So what's the trick? How do we do it? There are many ways but one of those that I have focused on lately is gratitude. This morning I was reading in the Book of Mormon and I found a cool scripture that stuck out to me in Mosiah. It is chapter 2 verse 20 and it reads, "I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the ^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and ^cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should ^drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another— ." I mixed up the verse a little bit when I was reading and I got it to say, "I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the ^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, ye should ^drejoice." I had this clear impression come to me that if I want to more fully open my heart to the power of the Atonement I need to develop more gratitude for it. We can do this by of course studying and always remembering the Atonement but also praying to God for a greater understanding of it. "True doctrine understood changes attitudes and behavior." The more we understand the infinite blessing we have been given, the more we can express a spirit of gratitude towards God. The more we are grateful, the happier we become.

Hope

I did a study on Hope this morning and it helped me out quite a bit. Here are some of my notes:
Websters
- To Desire with expectation of fulfillment; Await; Watch.
Those are some of the definitions that I liked as I searched the Dictionary.
True to the Faith
- Hope is sure, unwavering and active.
- We need to have a "Lively Hope." Lively: Quick to rebound; Full of life.
- As you strive to live the Gospel, you grow in your ability to abound in Hope.
- We increase in hope as we pray and seek God's forgiveness.
- We increase in hope as we read and apply the scriptures.
- With hope, you can find joy in life.
PMG "Hope" pg. 117
- Trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you.
- It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance.
2 Nephi 31:20
- We must press forward with a firm belief and assurance in Christ as well as having a perfect brightness of hope.
A perfect brightness of hope means never being discouraged, always staying firm and manifesting confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance.
Alma 58:10-11
- The Nephites pour out their souls in prayer to God and are filled with assurances that they will be delivered.
- Through assurances, God spoke peace to their souls.
Alma 58:12
- Through prayer, the Nephites gained hope which gave them great courage.
Ether 12:4
- Those who believe in God should expect to have a better world, even a place at the right hand of God.
- This assurance or expectation comes from exercising Faith.
- Hope maketh an anchor to the souls of men.
- Hope makes men sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.
Our day to day activities should be motivated by our hope in Christ. As we exercise Faith through prayer, scripture study, etc... we obtain a greater assurance of the Atonement. This in turn speaks peace to our souls and brings us happiness and peace. It is my testimony that developing a greater Hope through the Atonement of Jesus Christ will allow us to become the best people that we can be. We can be happy in this life and receive Eternal Life in the world to come. Feel free to add your thoughts and I will add more after a future study!

Prayer Warrior

I have often heard the term "Prayer Warrior" and I like it a lot. Here are some reasons why:

1.In the LDS Bible Dictionary it states that, " The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them." I like to think of Heavenly Father holding a big scroll full of blessings for each one of us and all we have to do is ask to acquire them. I think that the term "Prayer Warrior" is a term used to describe those that understand that God has a lot of blessings for them and they are determined to claim them. We cant make it through this life on our own so ask for some help!

2.The Prophet Thomas S. Monson states, "Adam prayed; Jesus prayed. We know the outcome of their prayers. He who notes the fall of a sparrow surely hears the pleadings of our hearts. Remember the promise: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
To those within the sound of my voice who are struggling with challenges and difficulties large and small, prayer is the provider of spiritual strength; it is the passport to peace. Prayer is the means by which we approach our Father in Heaven, who loves us. Speak to Him in prayer and then listen for the answer. Miracles are wrought through prayer."
I know that many miracles have been wrought in my life through prayer. From finding lost toys as a child to overcoming the effects of sin and weakness, I have seen prayer work in my life. I know that it can work for you too!