Despite all the hustle and bustle around me and within, I write this entry with a feeling of calmness right now. As I've sat here for the last little bit relaxing, despite the fact that there are many things that I have to get done before the deadline next Thursday, I've pondered a great many thoughts - many of them gospel oriented.
The first and foremost thought that I've had is that complete lack of reality that Finals have as related to real life. As I consider this position, I am reminded of the scripture that was brought up in Stake Priesthood meeting this last Sunday as well as the overall applicability of it to our lives. In Alma 34:32 we are reminded that "For behold, this life is the time to prepare to meet God, yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors" (Emphasis added). While our experiences as students convince us that cramming is what is necessary to obtain our "academic inheritance" per se, it is not transitional to our lives overall and especially to our eventual meeting with God. We do not have semesters of life that begin and end on exact dates and allow us to know when that ending will occur. We do not have a giant project or a big final exam in which we can cram the night before and stay up all night studying to pass the test in the morning. Instead, our final exam in life, is now and we are given the study guides along the way, as well as the ability to take the exam in a graduated form as opposed to all at once.
We can learn a lot from our experiences as students though. Many of us were fully aware throughout the semester of the deadlines for final projects, even though specific guidelines may not have been given until later on. We are fully aware of the ending date of the semester and that time by which we must submit our work and prove our knowledge in order to obtain that which we desire academically. Yet, many of us have procrastinated our progression to the end and expect to defy certain mortal laws - such as time, physics, and biology, in order to be able to mete out a level of mercy to ourselves to avoid the full consequences of justice that await us for our lack of preparation. President Thomas S. Monson said it best when he said "when the time for performance arrives, the time for preparation has past."
As mortal beings however, we convince ourselves, with the aid of the adversary of course, that we always have a "few more hours" or the time is &still far off" until that point at which we must face our own judgment because of our lack of application to that situation.
Out in the real world, we will not have those things which will require a constant pattern of cramming as we do for Finals. Instead however, we can learn lessons in spite of those things we learn from Finals, and learn to prepare ahead accordingly, so that when the time for our semester lives comes to an end, we are prepared to face our professors and be responsible for the judgment which we bring upon ourselves.
Just my thoughts for the night. I've got a lot more running through my head, but I'll stop there.
16 July 2009
06 July 2009
Remember The Lord's Tender Mercies
On a day at the end of a weekend that was a part of a very long and complicated week, I have been again reminded of the many tender mercies which the Lord does bestow on me on a daily basis. My heart is full right now as I begin to think of the many things that have gone on today that have helped to remind me of those many tender mercies.
As I awoke this morning, I hopped out of bed and began to iron my clothes for the meeting today. I originally ironed by gray shirt, the one with the button that's on the wrong side of the cuff; and completely ironed it -- and then was prompted to get a new shirt. I wasn't sure why - because its a gray shirt that I've had for a couple of years and have worn on many occasions, but for some reason I was prompted to go to the closet and select a white shirt. When I arrived at church, I found that the number of Priesthood brethren was small and by me wearing a white shirt, I was able to officiate in the Sacrament which was important to the whole ward.
As I went through the meeting, there were a number of things that were weighing down on my mind. I was asked to help with the Fast Offerings following the meeting, and then afterwards I hung around for a few minutes to speak to the Bishop. I had him give me a blessing of comfort and counsel which told me of several things that I really needed to know right now.
The rest of the day went on without a whole lot of event. My mind was brought to the knowledge of certain doctrines as I pondered the words that had been mentioned during the meetings and classes today. I continually thought about things all throughout Stadium Singing tonight, and then I was reminded again of another small, but very tender mercy of the Lord.
We had just concluded singing Abide With Me Tis Eventide for the final hymn. We have had threats of severe weather throughout the day but yet we seemingly saw very little of it today. As we finished singing the song, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a flash of light...not unusual for Stadium Singing - could have been a camera. As the closing prayer was said, we began to feel a growing breeze evolving into a gusty wind. Once the prayer concluded, the wind kicked up into full force, and the flashing light - turned out to be lightning strikes off in the distance. It was awesome to behold - that the wind and lightning held off until literally seconds after the prayer. I was reminded again at that point that the Lord was blessing Stadium Singing and allowing us to worship Him in song and praise and that was answered with a blessing on our heads, presumably symbolic of His acceptance.
Our lesson in Elder's Quorum today was on Covenants - specifically covenant-keeping in times of trouble. I was reminded of the several times in the last week in which that has been challenged by the adversary. I have found myself at times tempted by many things, and the only thing that has kept me safe has been my stalwart observance and recognition of my covenants with God. That has been a very powerful reminded to me - because even when I am not strong enough on my own to handle temptation, I know that I can hold strong to the remembrance of my covenants and that alone will get me through the situation in times of trouble.
I'm grateful for the blessings of the gospel in my life; for the guidance it gives me and the safety it provides. I know that if I hold strong to my covenants and have faith in the Lord - I may not know what I will be blessed with, but I know that the Lord will indeed bless me, up to and including eternal life. Just my thoughts for the night.
As I awoke this morning, I hopped out of bed and began to iron my clothes for the meeting today. I originally ironed by gray shirt, the one with the button that's on the wrong side of the cuff; and completely ironed it -- and then was prompted to get a new shirt. I wasn't sure why - because its a gray shirt that I've had for a couple of years and have worn on many occasions, but for some reason I was prompted to go to the closet and select a white shirt. When I arrived at church, I found that the number of Priesthood brethren was small and by me wearing a white shirt, I was able to officiate in the Sacrament which was important to the whole ward.
As I went through the meeting, there were a number of things that were weighing down on my mind. I was asked to help with the Fast Offerings following the meeting, and then afterwards I hung around for a few minutes to speak to the Bishop. I had him give me a blessing of comfort and counsel which told me of several things that I really needed to know right now.
The rest of the day went on without a whole lot of event. My mind was brought to the knowledge of certain doctrines as I pondered the words that had been mentioned during the meetings and classes today. I continually thought about things all throughout Stadium Singing tonight, and then I was reminded again of another small, but very tender mercy of the Lord.
We had just concluded singing Abide With Me Tis Eventide for the final hymn. We have had threats of severe weather throughout the day but yet we seemingly saw very little of it today. As we finished singing the song, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a flash of light...not unusual for Stadium Singing - could have been a camera. As the closing prayer was said, we began to feel a growing breeze evolving into a gusty wind. Once the prayer concluded, the wind kicked up into full force, and the flashing light - turned out to be lightning strikes off in the distance. It was awesome to behold - that the wind and lightning held off until literally seconds after the prayer. I was reminded again at that point that the Lord was blessing Stadium Singing and allowing us to worship Him in song and praise and that was answered with a blessing on our heads, presumably symbolic of His acceptance.
Our lesson in Elder's Quorum today was on Covenants - specifically covenant-keeping in times of trouble. I was reminded of the several times in the last week in which that has been challenged by the adversary. I have found myself at times tempted by many things, and the only thing that has kept me safe has been my stalwart observance and recognition of my covenants with God. That has been a very powerful reminded to me - because even when I am not strong enough on my own to handle temptation, I know that I can hold strong to the remembrance of my covenants and that alone will get me through the situation in times of trouble.
I'm grateful for the blessings of the gospel in my life; for the guidance it gives me and the safety it provides. I know that if I hold strong to my covenants and have faith in the Lord - I may not know what I will be blessed with, but I know that the Lord will indeed bless me, up to and including eternal life. Just my thoughts for the night.
03 July 2009
Sorrowful
I'm sitting here in shock right now, not sure really what to think, what to say, anything. All I feel is sorrow...but not sorrow coming from me, but sorrow that the Lord must be feeling right now along with Father. I've been talking to a friend tonight and she just revealed that she's intent on leaving the Church and walking away from everything. That's a shock in and of itself, but there's so much more to it.
I went out with this girl a couple of summers ago. I thought she was a very stalwart individual and that she had some great characteristics, and that she was worth getting to know better and pursuing a deeper relationship with. Granted, things only went to a first date, but we still became close friends after that.
Over time, this friend has revealed many troubling things to me. The biggest is that she is homosexual and has no intention of marrying a guy and starting a family. Other things have included past drug habits, drinking issues, sexual drive, worldliness, etc. Knowing about her past made things easier to relate to her, but it also revealed a harrowing situation that was likely not winnable by me alone. Be that as it may though, I did my best.
Last summer, it was a close call for her prior to when she went to BYU-Jerusalem. She believed that she, along with her friend, had received revelation on her on that the practice of polygamy was to be re-instituted into the church and that she was to become the 2nd wife to some man. After many hours of discussion and time on my knees and pondering of the scriptures, I was able to testify to her of the incorrectness of her perceived revelation. After bearing witness to her through the Spirit, she eventually saw the error of her ways, and abandoned her previous practices, and returned to full activity...or at least that's what she said.
We've recently started talking more again (we've always talked now and then, but never in too much depth), and I've gotten to know her much more than I have in the past - only not necessarily in a more positive light. She has revealed to me that she had been drinking last week, and her different physical desires for certain things, and that immediately got me worried. I bore witness where I could and listened and tried to resolve concerns with this girl over the last few weeks, but as time progressed, I came to the painful realization that it may all be in vain.
The big conflict with me is how I can read people though. I know that my perception a couple of years back in thinking that she was a potential eternal companion was not entirely wrong. Granted, some of it may have been hormonally-driven, but I wouldn't have asked this girl out in the first place had she not exhibited some desirable qualities. I mean c'mon people - if you know me, you know that I don't date, much less interact with people that I don't see some benefit or break even point in doing so with.
Basically, I think that the adversary has gotten to her and that she has become kind of blinded by perceptions of things. She's made her decision to leave the Church, and I can only just stand by and watch. I can't make her stay, and to try and force the issue would only lead to bitterness. I just hope that the Lord blesses her, and more importantly, hope that he touches her heart once again so that she might return to the fold. As for me on my end though, its just a lot to swallow all at once, and is weighing down on me heavily tonight.
I went out with this girl a couple of summers ago. I thought she was a very stalwart individual and that she had some great characteristics, and that she was worth getting to know better and pursuing a deeper relationship with. Granted, things only went to a first date, but we still became close friends after that.
Over time, this friend has revealed many troubling things to me. The biggest is that she is homosexual and has no intention of marrying a guy and starting a family. Other things have included past drug habits, drinking issues, sexual drive, worldliness, etc. Knowing about her past made things easier to relate to her, but it also revealed a harrowing situation that was likely not winnable by me alone. Be that as it may though, I did my best.
Last summer, it was a close call for her prior to when she went to BYU-Jerusalem. She believed that she, along with her friend, had received revelation on her on that the practice of polygamy was to be re-instituted into the church and that she was to become the 2nd wife to some man. After many hours of discussion and time on my knees and pondering of the scriptures, I was able to testify to her of the incorrectness of her perceived revelation. After bearing witness to her through the Spirit, she eventually saw the error of her ways, and abandoned her previous practices, and returned to full activity...or at least that's what she said.
We've recently started talking more again (we've always talked now and then, but never in too much depth), and I've gotten to know her much more than I have in the past - only not necessarily in a more positive light. She has revealed to me that she had been drinking last week, and her different physical desires for certain things, and that immediately got me worried. I bore witness where I could and listened and tried to resolve concerns with this girl over the last few weeks, but as time progressed, I came to the painful realization that it may all be in vain.
The big conflict with me is how I can read people though. I know that my perception a couple of years back in thinking that she was a potential eternal companion was not entirely wrong. Granted, some of it may have been hormonally-driven, but I wouldn't have asked this girl out in the first place had she not exhibited some desirable qualities. I mean c'mon people - if you know me, you know that I don't date, much less interact with people that I don't see some benefit or break even point in doing so with.
Basically, I think that the adversary has gotten to her and that she has become kind of blinded by perceptions of things. She's made her decision to leave the Church, and I can only just stand by and watch. I can't make her stay, and to try and force the issue would only lead to bitterness. I just hope that the Lord blesses her, and more importantly, hope that he touches her heart once again so that she might return to the fold. As for me on my end though, its just a lot to swallow all at once, and is weighing down on me heavily tonight.
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