HaPpY AmEriCa DaY!!

Mon, July 4, 2011 8:12:52 PM

FIRST THINGS FIRST--HAPPY AMERICA DAY!!!
I hope you are enjoying your watermelon and fireworks. I was sick, and surrounded by Latins and a Canadian, so my America day was a little uncelebrated. But that is okay--I´m proud to be an American where at least I know I´m free, and I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me! Nor the pioneers that died to give us the gospel in these days. Even down to Yader, who was baptized this week. He changed completely. The gospel works.

I was thinking the other day of how marvelous the church is and how great and loving God is. There are many folks in this world who profess to believe that God lives. They testify that He guides us still. And even that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. But there is a key that is missing way too often. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to His kingdom. We believe that His ways are higher than our ways and understanding. We believe in prophecy, visions, revelation... we believe that men must be called of God by prophecy and by the laying on of hands by those in authority, to guide us in these days. We believe that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, everyone can be saved, by obediance to all the laws and ordinances of the gospel.. not just a select few. An apostle said in conference that the cafeteria method of picking and choosing does not and will not work. Life will not always be perfect or easy, and it is hard to walk by pure faith, but that is exactly what we must do. It is how we deal with what comes our way that makes the difference.

The Lord expects us to work towards uniting our will with His. Many assume that they can be in full harmony with the Gospel and His teachings and at the same time be out of harmony with the leaders in these days, as well as the counsel and direction that they give. But that is completely inconsistent because the guidance in these days doesnt only come from the written word, but also from continuous revelation (the key!). The Lord gives that revelation through His chosen, living prophets. But many profess to accept His gospel while criticizing and refusing to follow the counsel of the prophet. This is the key in these days. We dont have to solely cling to scripture, things that can so easily be taken to mean something different to everyone. The Lord works NOW as well. Please do not misunderstand me - the scriptures are extremely important and in fact vital to one`s personal progress and enlightenment and learning. However, the point I`d like to make is that the Lord set apart prophets, apostles and other leaders of the church for US. To guide us! For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we come in the UNITY of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Why did He do this? So that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, but that we may grow up into Him in all things, Him being the head of the church, who is Christ (Ephesians 4:11-15). The Lord knew that people would take and mesh His doctrine (and His written word) according to their own preferences and understandings, and that is why He demonstrates His love for us by giving us leaders and prophets - so that we can continue to be guided in a path that is very straight and narrow. That is the only path that returns to Him, and He set it up.

When Christ ministered to the people in the new world, He taught them a good lesson: `There shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.´ Even though we are all different and unique, there is 1 way that we can be united, and that way is to seek the Lord and His righteousness, or rather, what He wants and not what we want or what is comfortable. The way to unity is for us to learn the will of the Lord and then to do it. As president Romney said, the major reasons for the world´s troubles today is that men arent seeking to know the will of the Lord who lives and actively guides in these days. Rather do they seek to solve their problems by other means, in their own wisdom and their own way. They seek to solve problems by what they know, not by what the all-knowing God who has the whole plan knows. The Lord marked this as one of the causes of the calamities He foresaw about us when He declared `They have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant; they seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way.´

Our time here is a period of trials and testing to see if we will do whatever the Lord sees fit to command us. It is not always easy, convenient, or successful to complete in it all, but there is a power in consistancy and the Lord takes note of that. I think it was Elder Oaks that said `Changing desire to seek the things of the eternities is not easy. But remember, you get what you seek.´ In all of this, personal growth toward unity with Him is the objective. Because trials are meant to purify us personally, do not be surprised to find that the trials are personal to you. The Lord wants to make our weaknesses strong so you may find your trials come hand-crafted to hit you at your weak spots. In the midst of problems, its hard to see that blessings will well-outweigh the cost we pay for them. But all commandments are given to us to bless us and bring us joy (Read D&C 1:37-38 and 20:19). He blesses His obedient children with freedom from bondage and misery. I´d like to point out that these two things referred to here are not always consequences of outside sources. Many times we can create our own bondage and misery, which can suffocate us without us being fully aware of it. Even if we do get lost in self-destructive behavior or beliefs, the Lord watches us and does not forget us. He sends things to help us to come back - people, experiences, words of the scriptures... all we have to do is try to recognize the Lord´s efforts when He sends them. It is always possible to escape our trials, weaknesses and other periods of darkness. Because one of the sons of God came and his will was swallowed up in the will of the Father. Completely united, so much to say that they were one. The price was paid, and he learned how to succor this people. He experienced everything so he could help us individually.

For the record.. we knew it would be difficult. But we knew it was worth it to come here to be tried in our faith. The enemy says we are lost; the Lord says there is hope for all. We just have to work to conform ouir lives to the teachings and will of the Lord - completly. As we continue on the path to becoming true disciples of Him, the road becomes more narrow until we are in complete unity with Him. I am grateful that I dont live in a time of darkness without the authority in the earth. I am thankful for the knowledge that this Lord, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, lives and has not stayed silent, leaving us to our own devices. I know that the Lord had a plan. The Bible was translated, a nation was founded under the principles of freedom, and in that choice, blessed nation I know that the Lord restored His gospel through a living prophet, and that from there He continued to guide it according to His desires. I know that God not only lives, but that He speaks through prophets in these days, which is important because through them the Lord reveals those great and important things pertaining to His kingdom. I know that it is important to learn the truth of their words through prayer and I know that we can know the truth of all things through the power of the Holy Spirit. I`m grateful as well for the fact that the Lord expects more out of us, always. And I´m thankful for the guidance He has given me in my life. This I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.