Saturday, March 16, 2013
Today, I was faced with a challenge that I still haven't completed. That challenge is confessing to my mother my involvement in learning about the Mormon faith for almost two months now. I can't think of anything I have ever been more scared to do in my entire life. It did cross my mind to quit and just stop, to cease my learning in the Church and my care for the Church itself. But as I was talking to Elder Alvarenga, I realized that's not an option. I can't just quit because something's hard. That's even more reason to push on, to trust, to hope, to have faith, and to pray.
While watching some videos on the Mormon Channel, I found two videos that were of extreme significance to me. The first one is Choose This Day (http://bcove.me/25qre13p). In this video, we are reminded not to wait too long and saying that you will do something someday is a very bad habit to get into. Someday does not mean today, it means eventually. The word eventually is not a specific time period. This means that you could say that you will do something someday and never do it. That's of course not something you want to do. It's better to do that something today than wait. This is something I have discovered while talking to my friend David as well as all of the Elders and Sisters who have been so kind to talk to me.
The second video is called He Will Give You Help (http://www.mormonchannel.org/mormon-messages-for-youth?v=912461270001). This video teaches us literally what the title says. Our Heavenly Father will give us help. In the Book of Mormon, we are shown that often times we have to ask for the Lord's help; it's not just given to us. We actually have to pray and ask for help or guidance.
In Psalm 30:5 we are told that "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." This serves to remind us that even though there are some tough times and some very difficult trials in our lives, they will end eventually. And when they do end, we will feel joyous because we have endured through the trial we were faced with. Remember to "Never give up on the Lord. His blessings are eternal." The Lord has promised never to abandon us. It is for that reason that we should never give up on Him. Psalm 119:105 tells us "The Lord's word is the lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Follow the Lord, He will guide you; always. In Matthew 28:20, the Lord promises us that "He is with you always, even unto the end of the world." The Lord is here with us forever and ever. He promises not to leave us. He promises to be with us and guide until the end. In 2 Nephi 25:23, the Lord promises us that we will be "reconciled to God" after we have done "all that we can do." Heavenly Father knows that we are not perfect. He has granted us so many promises and yet He decides that He will reassure us that even if we mess up, even if we have tried our hardest, He will make up for what we could not do.
In both Alma 32:21 (And now as I said concerning faith - faith is not to have knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.) and Ether 12:6 (And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.) we are told that to have faith is not to have knowledge. You must trust that God knows what He is doing and will lead you where you need to go. If we were just told everything, then how would we learn? Making mistakes IS the way we learn, repentance is the way we apologize for the mistakes we've made. It is also our promise to God to change ourselves so that we don't make the same mistake again. The Lord reminds us in Alma 32:43 (Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.) that after our trial is over, we will receive a reward from it. Sometimes this reward is more knowledge and other times, it's simply happiness and being more faithful toward the Lord. But know, He is always there whenever we need His help. All we have to do is ask sincerely.
(Feel free to comment! I would love any feedback I can get! :) )
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