Lying to Yourself

I'd just like to start by saying that everything I'm gonna say is based purely off of personal experience, this may or may not be helpful to you.

I think we all have at some point or another really struggled to overcome a bad habit, or possibly even an addiction. It may be a rather trivial character flaw or something quite serious, regardless of what it is the process which we go through to change is much the same and it's one where we learn a lot about ourselves. I'd like to just share with you something I've learned.

For a lot of people, one of the hardest things to do is to admit to others that they need help. But although this is hard for me, there is something much harder. For me the hardest thing to do is to be honest with myself. I truly struggle to admit to myself that I need help. Let me explain what I mean.

I do of course recognize that I have flaws that I should work on fixing. But the tendency is to think that if I am not in the moment struggling with a particular flaw, then I should just pretend it doesn't exist and try to avoid thinking about it.

Because of this the following pattern exists in my life, and possibly in yours.
1. I will be living my normal life.
2. Situation arises that exposes a particular flaw in my character
3. I am ashamed of myself, possibly feel guilty and wish I was a different person.
4. The feelings fade and I go on trying to pretend it never happened and never will again.
This pattern happens over and over again with stuff like losing my temper to more important things. The problem is that once step 4 is finished step 1 commences and each time step 3 feels worse and I start wondering if I will ever succeed in overcoming my flaws.

If you've made it this far and this doesn't sound like something you have a problem with you can skip reading the rest, but if you are like me than here's what I have found has helped me.

"...the truth will set you free" John 8:32

This quote has helped me enormously to begin changing who I am. To change who you are, you have to face who you are. You have to face the truth, and be honest to yourself. You can't lie to yourself and pretend you don't have a problem that you do have. You will never overcome your greatest flaws by closing your eyes to them or avoiding situations that expose them.
You can't send little kids to their rooms and expect them to be quiet for more than 10 minutes, so why do we think we can do that to our inner demons? You have to evict them (the inner demons not the little kids).
How do you get rid of your flaws? Idk, I'm not you. But for me, one of the most important steps was realizing that I would have to face my flaws head on and actively work on getting rid of them.

Christ's Question

So recently I've been doing a study on every question that Christ asked in the New Testament, and it's been very interesting and thought provoking and I'd like to share a thought with you.

Christ asked a lot of questions, most however were not the questions of a man seeking information but rather the questions of a teacher trying to instruct. In fact many would argue that Christ never had a need to ask for information because he could discern all through the spirit. Whether or not this is true pertaining to mundane aspects of life is uncertain but it is clearly shown that Christ was taught by God through the spirit on spiritual matters.

From this line of thought I deduced that although he probably knew the answer to his questions before he even asked when speaking to man, when speaking to God the questions Christ asked were probably ones that he did not, at the time, know the answer to.

In searching for questions directed towards God, I found only one. Most people immediately think of Christ's petition for the cup to be removed, however, as recorded that was a statement, not a question. The only question I found was in Matthew 27:46. When on the cross, the companionship of the Holy Spirit withdrew, and Christ was left truly alone. At that time he cried out,

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Now it is not my intention to interpret this portion of scripture for you, but rather to suggest that to this question it may be that Christ did not know the answer at this time. 

For me personally as I have considered this possibility it has given me greater appreciation for everything that Christ went through as he did his utmost to show his love for his Father and for you and me. It is my hope that we can all take more time to consider his atonement and take even more time to apply it in our lives. 

Spiderman's Favorite Scripture

The new Peter Parker hasn't quite managed to get his lines right, but for those who are fans of the friendly neighborhood Spiderman love the iconic quote "with great power comes great responsibility." There is profound truth in this statement, so it shouldn't be overly surprising that this principle is actually stated in the scriptures.

D&C 82:3 "For of him unto whom much is given much is required"

In the movies and comics it's pretty obvious that Peter interprets his Uncles words to mean that he has great responsibility because of his spidey powers. But what about us? What have we been given? And what is required of us?

What have we been given?

The easy answer to this question is to say, "well God has given us everything." Although true, that answer is lacking in useful details. The problem with just thanking God for "everything" is that you really aren't thanking him for anything. If you cannot notice what everything you have actually is, you can't actually be thankful for it. Try making a list of everything you have ever recieved from God. If you open our mind you'll soon realize that the list will never end, but as you work on it you will also begin to notice that your gratitude increases because instead of being grateful for a generic "everything" you'll be grateful for a more specific "everything"

What is required?

Sometimes it's really hard to know what it is that the Lord wants from you, but I'm a believer that God gives you the tools needed to get the job done. He won't give you hammer to cut a board and he won't give you a chisel to perform brain surgery. In other words, your gifts from God will tend to line up with your duties to God. Perhaps you have a gift for listening, my guess would be that your duty to God is to give comfort to those who are troubled. I'm confident that one of the best ways to see what direction you should take in your life is to take a look at your talents and gifts and then consider with what purpose in mind did God give these to you.

As a final note, sometimes we are guilty of resenting requirements and the expectations of others. If this is your viewpoint towards God's expectations and requirements you will likely live unhappy and you will certainly experience the old adage "use it or lose it." But on the other hand if we soften our hearts, you will find that your "duties" to God will actually bring you greater happiness than anything else. Why? because you will be using a combination of your greatest skills to do the greatest good.

Tip for Happiness

Tip for Happiness:

I've been trying something new these past few weeks. You see I spend a lot of time waiting for busses, or walking to and from places. And generally while doing that I'm wishing I was somewhere else and with that I could be with people. But these last few weeks I've plugged in my headphones and danced. I dance at the bus stop, and I'll sometimes (especially at night) dance down the street. I may not be going full out but it's certainly enough to get some weird looks and a few laughs. But it's ok!

For me dancing is my passion and when I listen to music it's something I feel a drive to do! Now here's the really fun cool thing, since I've started doing this somethings changed. Instead of waiting or walking and wishing I was elsewhere and with someone, I enjoy where I am and I wish people were with me to enjoy it too!

Now I know some of you guys don't like dancing, but that's not what I'm suggesting. What I did is that when I found myself not wanting to be where I was, I changed things so that I did want to be there. If you put something you love into something you dislike or hate, you'll find that pretty soon you love everything about your life.

Try it, let me know how it goes!

Taking the Gospel with a Grain of Salt

One of the best ways to avoid falling into erroneous actions and beliefs is the practice of taking what you hear with a grain of salt. In other words, having a healthy skepticism for what you read and what others tell you.

All of us can think of at least one time where we took someone for their word and got sucked into doing something or believing something that wasn't true. Perhaps you listened to a silver-tongued salesman, or maybe you jumped on a political bandwagon only to learn the full story later on. The fact of the matter is that as humans we are often more emotional than we are logical and most of us have the tendency to believe that others are being honest with us. The problem with this is that even if I am perfectly honest with you, it doesn't mean that what I say is true, it just means that I believe it to be so. 

Because of this it's a good idea to withhold a full acceptance of what is being said until you go and confirm for yourself the truth. In some cases a complete confirmation isn't possible, but in almost every case you can find supplemental sources to give different viewpoints.

So what does this have to do with the Gospel? Do I dare suggest that it may be important to have a healthy skepticism towards the Gospel? Yes, yes I do. Why? Because in the scriptures there are some mistakes and the Apostles and Prophets make mistakes as well, and Stake Presidents, Bishops, Sunday School teachers, and Seminary teachers most definitely make mistakes. 

Moroni once stated that there were possibly mistakes in the Book of Mormon, he said "And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold we know no fault; nevertheless God knoweth all things;" Mormon 8:17. Notice that as far as Moroni was aware, the Book of Mormon was without fault, but he acknowledged that there was a possibility of fault. In admitting this he also provided how we may learn to distinguish the truth from the faults of man. He said "God knoweth all things." It is our responsibility to take what we have learned to the Lord before fulling accepting new teachings. If we simply accept what we are told in General Conference to be the truth because it is General Conference then we will likely accept whatever the internet says because it is the internet. 

I am not saying that we should disbelieve the Prophet and Apostles, or any teachers in the church. I am trying to say that we are each responsible to verify their teachings through our own study and prayer so that we may receive a witness from the Lord of it's truthfulness. "Ask and you shall recieve."

To conclude I wish to clarify what I define to be the difference between healthy skepticism and unhealthy skepticism. A healthy skepticism is one that encourages you to consider the implications of a new teaching, to ponder upon it and to seek a confirmation through study and faith. An unhealthy skepticism drives you to reject and doubt teachings. It urges you to condemn it as worthless. Please do not do this. Do not doubt what you believe, rather seek to confirm what you believe, that is how you turn faith and belief into pure knowledge. (see Alma 32)

When did we see thee?

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:34-40

The above passage is probably the most commonly cited scripture on performing scripture. When used in church I've generally heard the emphasis placed on the last part, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." But when I was studying this passage of scripture this week something struck me about the question posed by the righteous. After being told that they had performed all these great deeds in God's service they were surprised, and they asked when they had done such a thing. My thought was why were they so surprised? Sure some of them may not have realized that they were serving God by serving their fellow man, but I think there might be something else there that may serve as a valuable lesson. I don't think that serving our fellowman because we desire to serve God is the best motive for service.

First I must say that I believe that it is good to serve our fellow man out of a desire to serve God. But I don't believe God really needs our service. He is a God after all, and anything we can do, he can do better and faster. In truth I think we are the true beneficiaries when we serve God, because of what we can learn from him when we do.

I believe that a higher motive for our service would be to serve our fellowman out of love for our fellowman. "To love thy neighbor as thyself" is the second great commandment. If this is our primary motive for service than we will truly be blessed. Sadly it often occurs that when we perform service with the idea in mind that we are serving God we often miss out on the real needs of who we are trying to serve. But if in the front of our minds is a love for those we serve than we will be more attune to spiritual promptings as to how to be of service to our fellowman. I believe that Christ more than anything wishes to see that we love each other.

If genuine love is our focus, than we will find that when we get to heaven we will be truly surprised as to how much Christ appreciates our efforts.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: It is good to serve the Lord out of love for him, but if we do not perform our service out of love for our fellowman as well, than we will likely fail to cultivate relationships with the rest of God's family and we will miss out on truly coming to know the Lord.

Have I Not Earned Heaven?

Christ was the Master Teacher. He stunned the most learned of his day with his understanding and insights. One of his best techniques was his use of questions. It's interesting to study the sorts of questions that he would ask and how they furthered his teaching. One question that he posed called my attention as I was reading in the seventh chapter of Matthew.

"21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23. And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you.

I've heard this scripture cited many times by missionaries trying to talk about the importance of having the Priesthood when doing the Lord's work, but that interpretation has never sat very well with me. This time that I read this passage I noticed something I hadn't before.

In these verses Christ is asking a question, but it isn't directed at an audience, rather he is posing a question that he knows that some of us may be tempted to ask of him at judgement day.

Evidently the individuals that would ask this question are those that are not pleased with the judgement passed and are trying to justify a higher reward. They begin to list all the good deeds that they did in Christ's name thinking that they deserve to heaven. Essentially what they are doing is looking at the Lord and saying "Do I not deserve better? Have I not earned Heaven?"

The Lord's response to such is instructive. He responds "I never knew you." It appears in that all their doings, individuals that would be tempted to ask such questions of the Lord, failed to develop a personal relationship with him. They thought that they could earn their way to heaven. They completely failed to understand that such a thing is impossible. We do not earn heaven, rather we are given the opportunity through Christ to be accepted into heaven. It is through Christ and his atonement that salvation is achieved, not through the merit of our actions alone. 

Think about it like this. Everything on this earth is temporal. Even the most precious substance of this earth is most likely considered to be worth less than the lowest substance in heaven. All of the most wonderful sincere acts of goodness that we can perform pale in comparison to the least of the works of God. So how is it that some of us think that by our actions we can earn a spot in his kingdom? We simply can't. Heaven cannot be earned. None of us truly deserve heaven. Heaven is perfection, and we most certainly are not perfect.

I am not saying that none of us will be received into heaven. It is my sincere hope that all of us become sanctified through the blood of Christ and enter into God's kingdom. I am merely trying to emphasize that it is spiritually dangerous for us to feel a sense of entitlement towards are admittance to heaven based upon our actions. Instead we should seek to humbly follow Christ. When we perform acts of goodness it should not be to earn points on some imaginary entrance exam for heaven, rather it should be because through our personal relationship with Christ we learn to be better people, we learn to desire to do good, and we do good out of love for God and our fellowman. If we do this, then through the power of his atonement, Christ will perfect our imperfections and make us fit to be citizens of God's Kingdom.