I am on the last chapter of 'Defined by Christ'. The chapter I just finished was about peace and happiness. That is the key to life. It is the culmination of this book. If we come to know our Heavenly Father, come to know our Savior, Jesus Christ and be defined by Him we will have peace and happiness in our lives.
I know this to be true because I have felt of His peace and felt happiness these last couple of years. This is because I have decided to read my scriptures daily and be more diligent in my prayers and read books like 'Defined by Christ' which edify me and lead me toward Christ. This has enabled me to have joy and happiness.
Joy is what we are supposed to have in this life. In 'Defined by Christ,' Toni Sorenson states another one of my favorite scriptures; 2 Nephi 2:25 "Adam fell that man might be, men are that they might have joy." Reading this scripture reminded me of a time in my life when I was struggling with a marriage that was not a joy and I was trying to decide what I was supposed to do. Should I stay in it and try to make it work or should I get out and try to salvage a happy life for me and my children. It was not that my now ex was a bad person. He was not, but we did not seem to want the same eternal things and we did not agree on how to get to eternity. I was miserable a lot and did not know where to turn. I was speaking with my Stake President about my dilemma and after a while of talking he quoted 2 Ne. 2:25. He said that the Lord wanted us to be happy. Not just the momentary, fleeting happiness that the world speaks of, but of the true long-lasting, eternal happiness that comes from knowing our Savior and living the gospel. That is when I decided to be more diligent in my prayers, scripture study, and in keeping the commandments. As I did this I began to feel the peace the Savior gives to me. I was able to find peace while going through the divorce, knowing the Lord was with me. I also knew that with time He could heal my children and give them peace.
I had also been looking outside of myself for this peace and happiness. But these come from within us. As Toni says in the book, "Peace and happiness are within us. We'll never find them in a place or in a package. We'll never find them by whining or murmuring. We'll never find them as long as we are ungrateful, as long as we refuse to forgive, as long as we cling to bitterness, hatred, vengeance. They will not be found as we wallow in pity or any type of self-destructive behavior. It's not our circumstances that determine our peace and happiness -- it's our attitude toward those circumstances." How true that is. Even now when I feel that I am having troubles, if I get out of myself and think of others and serve, think of my Savior, read edifying material and tell my Heavenly Father how grateful I am for all I have, I can look at these troubles in a different light and be able to get through them with a greater peace and happiness.
The Savior can give us of His peace because He has felt every sorrow or hurt that we have. When we feel down we should remember that we are not expected to be perfect in this life. Even the best of men in this world are not perfect. Even prophets like Nephi have doubted themselves, but they also have realized in whose arm they have put their trust and where to find peace and happiness. I feel His peace daily and am grateful for His love for me!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
My Favorite Scripture
I was reading tonight in Defined by Christ about the Plan of Salvation. I love it how Toni Sorenson describes it. She says, "It's called the Plan of Salvation because it's there to redeem us when we sell ourselves short. It's called the Plan of Redemption because it's there to remind us who we really are and what we're worth in the eyes of the Almighty. It's the plan of mercy and the plan of happiness because it's there to wipe away our misery and despair." Aren' those lovely thoughts. I think they are. Heavenly Father's plan can help us through anything through the Atoning sacrifice of our Savior.
He knows who we are and how we feel no matter what we are going through because He has gone through it Himself. He experienced everything. He has felt all our misery, hunger, pain, weakness, etc. Sometimes I remember this when I am going through a trial and it makes me want to hold my head up higher and praise Him instead of wallowing because I do not want to be the one to cause any more pain for Him.
In the beginning, the book talked about knowing our Heavenly Father and our Savior. The book talks about knowing Satan, who he is, what he wants and how he works. He wants each of us to become like him and not be able to return to our Heavenly Father. He knows exactly how to hit us and how to try to make us feel low. He gets into our thoughts and makes us think bad thoughts especially about ourselves. He tries to get us to stop believing that we are children of God. He tries to tell us that our trials are brought on by our actions. Some are, but some are not. Some we create by giving in to the temptations of satan. Some are caused by others and some just happen. When we go through trials he wants us to think that this is the end. That we cannot live through these hard times or even if we do, our Heavenly Father will not love us and we are worthless.
When these thoughts start to enter my head, I turn to my favorite scripture which was quoted in the book. D & C 58: 3-4 "Ye cannot beholde with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand."
This gets me through and helps me feel the love of my Heavenly Father. All the things I go through will enable me to blessed in heaven. What a great thought!
I don't want Satan to win, so I am going to work hard to come closer to my Savior and to feel the Holy Ghost. To cast Satan out of my life and to move toward eternal life with my Father in Heaven, my Savior, and my family.
He knows who we are and how we feel no matter what we are going through because He has gone through it Himself. He experienced everything. He has felt all our misery, hunger, pain, weakness, etc. Sometimes I remember this when I am going through a trial and it makes me want to hold my head up higher and praise Him instead of wallowing because I do not want to be the one to cause any more pain for Him.
In the beginning, the book talked about knowing our Heavenly Father and our Savior. The book talks about knowing Satan, who he is, what he wants and how he works. He wants each of us to become like him and not be able to return to our Heavenly Father. He knows exactly how to hit us and how to try to make us feel low. He gets into our thoughts and makes us think bad thoughts especially about ourselves. He tries to get us to stop believing that we are children of God. He tries to tell us that our trials are brought on by our actions. Some are, but some are not. Some we create by giving in to the temptations of satan. Some are caused by others and some just happen. When we go through trials he wants us to think that this is the end. That we cannot live through these hard times or even if we do, our Heavenly Father will not love us and we are worthless.
When these thoughts start to enter my head, I turn to my favorite scripture which was quoted in the book. D & C 58: 3-4 "Ye cannot beholde with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand."
This gets me through and helps me feel the love of my Heavenly Father. All the things I go through will enable me to blessed in heaven. What a great thought!
I don't want Satan to win, so I am going to work hard to come closer to my Savior and to feel the Holy Ghost. To cast Satan out of my life and to move toward eternal life with my Father in Heaven, my Savior, and my family.
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