It's True, and Here's Why

I want to share who I am, and what I stand for. I am Sarah; I am the daughter of Ruth and Bill; I am a wife to my wonderful husband; I am the mother of three amazing children; I am a grand daughter, a sister, an aunt, a niece, a cousin, and a friend; I am a daughter of the Most High God; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, and as such I want to testify of Him and His Gospel. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am a member of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am a Christian.

So, this week I studied 2 Nephi, chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16.  Each week, I'm given a new Study Skill to apply to my study of scriptures. This past week was Clustering, and it can be used to relate specific topics in the scriptures with additional scriptures, thereby acting as another witness of truth, or to clarify when there are things we want to understand better. Clustering is often referred to as cross referencing. It can be done by searching the Footnotes, Topical Guide, Index, Bible Dictionary, and Conference Reports. One of my favorite ways to cluster a topic is by heading over to the lds.org search bar.

While studying 2 Nephi 9:2, I came to this sentence "...until the time comes that they shall be restored to the true church and fold of God." The word restored is cross referenced, but what really had my interest were the words true church. In my sincere desire to understand what Heavenly Father was trying to teach me I headed over to lds.org, and typed in true church. I found a reference entitled Church, Signs Of The True. 

Signs of the True Church- "The doctrines and works of a church that show it is approved by God and is the means the Lord has established for his children to gain the fullness of his blessings." Some of the signs of the true Church are as follows:

1. Correct understanding of the Godhead
2. First principles and ordinances
3. Revelation
4. Prophets
5. Authority
6. Additional scriptures to come forth
7. Church organization
8. Missionary work
9. Spiritual gifts
10. Temples

I love my Savior, and want to shout His truths from ALL of the rooftops. I hope you will take some time to study these things out for yourself, and then pray about them to know if they are true. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our sincere prayers.

For those of you that may be curious, and wondering about some of the additional scriptures that have come forth, I invite you to request your own free copy of The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ to read, study, ponder and pray about. If you want to get started right away while waiting for your paper copy, click this link now.

Thanks for taking some time to hang out. I'd love to know your thoughts.

Spiritual Dead Spots

Have you ever had a time in your life when you think you're doing the right things, and no matter how hard you try, the straight and narrow path feels like this crooked fence?  It seems straight, but yet it still takes you ever so slightly off course, and then you redirect heading back to the center, to be just slightly off course again?

Well, I've had one of those times recently. Nothing in particular was wrong; I thought I was doing all of the right things I should have been doing, but yet...I just felt BLAH!

I started thinking, maybe it's the lack of daylight because of the bad weather we've had recently, or the shorter days because of the change of season. Regardless of the cause, I'd felt a little more irritable than usual. I'd been a real grumpy grump becoming angry and annoyed over things that wouldn't normally bother me. This created a HUGE problem for me. I had put myself in a spiritual dead spot. Meaning, I didn't have the Holy Ghost with me as much as I wanted. This is the sad part, I didn't even recognize it fully until a couple of days ago.

I watched a video clip on Monday from from the April 2004 General Conference session entitled "Did You Get the Right Message?" by James E. Faust. In this particular clip, he is talking about how we can often put ourselves into spiritual dead spots; places and situations that block out divine messages.
Now, this is the important part for me. ANGER is included among the other things like, pornography, transgression, and selfishness that offend the Spirit. Imagine my surprise when it finally dawned on me that it wasn't everybody else that had the problem, but that it was me. Talk about having an "aha" moment.

This week I have been studying 1 Nephi 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22. So, when I finally realized that I was the problem it made me think of this passage of scriptures that I had read earlier in the week found in 1 Nephi 16:1-2. Nephi had just told his brothers Laman & Lemuel in 1 Nephi 15 what was going to happen to the wicked if they continued in their wickedness, to which Laman & Lemuel (I'm going to paraphrase here in my own words) whined saying to Nephi, what you've told us is really hard, and it's more than we can bear.

Now, why do you suppose Laman & Lemuel would think hearing about what would happen to the wicked would be too hard for them to bear? 

I'll tell you what I'm thinking; I think it's for the exact same reason I had my "aha" moment. Because, it truly does feel like we're being cut to the core when we know what is being said is true, and we are guilty of sin. But hold on, there is good news! We have been blessed with the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through Christ, all of our wrongs can be made right again, if we are willing to humble ourselves and repent.  What a wonderful thing He did for us because of His loving kindness and long-suffering towards the children of men.

I've included a video entitled "Lifting Burdens". If you are unable to view it in your browser, please try another. Such as: Chrome, Mozilla, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc. ...

                              

I would love to hear how you have overcome your own spiritual dead spots to be able to feel the Spirit more fully.

Thank you for taking some time to ponder with me.