Habit #4 Enjoy the day- if not, make it worthwhile.

President Ezra Taft Benson counseled:

 "Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose their life in the service of God will find Eternal Life. We once knew well our Elder Brother and our Heavenly Father. We rejoiced together at the prospects of earth life that could make it possible for us to have a fulness of joy. We could hardly wair to demonstrate to our Father and our Brother, the Lord, how much we loved them and how we would be obedient to them in spite of the earthly opposition of the evil one. Now we are here. Our memories are veiled. We are showing God and ourselves what we can do. Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar His face is to us. God loves us. He is watching us. He wants us to succeed. We will know some day that He has not left one thing undone for the eternal welfare of each of us - friends in Heaven that we cannot now remember who yearn for our victory. This is our day to show what we can do - what life and sacrifice we can daily, hourly, instantly make for God. If we give our all, we will get His all from the greatest of all. Give God your best, and His best will come back to you." (Ensign, December 1988, p. 6)


Apostle George Q. Cannon:


"We of all people should be happy and joyful. When the clouds seem the darkest and most threatening, and as though the storm is ready to burst upon us with all it's fury, we should be calm, serene and undisturbed, for if we have the faith we profess to have, we know that God is in the storm, in the cloud, or in the threatened danger, and that He will not let it come upon us only as far as it is necessary for our good and for our salvation; and we should even then, be calm and rejoice before God and praise Him...I know that there is a power in the religion of Jesus Christ to sustain men even under these circumstances, and they can rejoice in them."
(George Q. Cannon, Journal of Discourses, 15:275)

Habit #3 Charity

With this habit you will be able to transform temporal activities into activities for spiritual growth. Practice doing each event and project of the day out of the love you feel for Heavenly Father and the Savior. A. Example: Today you decide to do the following: Events & Projects 1. Prepare breakfast lunch and dinner for family. 2. Wash and dry clothes. 3 Pull the weeds in the yard. 4. Visit an elderly neighbor. Spiritual Purpose I will do these activities for Heavenly Father and Savior because I love them. They have asked me to let my light so shine to glorify them. I will pray over each event so I can represent them as they would have me do. B. Record the results of each day as you seek to accomplish many things for Heavenly Father and the Savior. Notice the results when you do an activity with a spiritual focus and when you do an activity with a temporal focus. The difference will be self evident. C. The Savior taught in John 15:5 that with out Him, we could do nothing. If one chooses to do his daily work for Heavenly Father, two pay envelopes will be filled. One with a temporal pay check and the other will be filled with spiritual treasures. That is, one will draw closer to Heavenly Father- he will be more sensitive to spiritual promptings- he will enjoy his work more, and the temporal pressures will be reduced, to name a few blessings. If one chooses to do his daily work because he knows that it is the right thing to do, he will receive the pay check, and a good feeling that he is doing that which is right. But most of the spiritual growth will not occur because he was mostly temporally centered throughout each day.

Habit #2 Becoming Steadfast in Christ

The Prophets throughout the ages, including modern day have asked each person to; 1. Become one with Christ 2. Abide in Christ 3. Exercise faith in Christ 4. Be Steadfast in Christ 5. Be consumed in Christ 6. Look unto Him in every thought 7. Become perfect as He is perfect ect... Habit #2 is designed to help each person experience joy as he learns how to see, think, feel and do as Christ does. This section reviews the four processes used for spiritual growth. Process #1 Understanding your 3 worlds and how to use each for spiritual growth. The are the spiritual, the temporal, and your personal inner world. Process #2 How to become one with Christ by seeing as He sees, by thinking as He thinks, by feeing as He feels and then doing as He does. There are 12 thought patterns of Christ that are used to facilitate the process. Process #3 In order to think like the Savior, one must learn to focus his mind and his heart on the truths Christ teaches in order to get it rooted. Praying unto Heavenly Father throughout each day about the truths is how one gets it rooted until the thought pattern becomes a part of his being. Process #4 When one chooses to be temporally focused throughout the day certain prices are paid. When one chooses to focus spiritually throughout the day certain blessings are experienced. By keeping a list of prices and blessings available, one can tell quickly if he is walking in spiritual darkness or if he is walking in spiritual light throughout the day.

Habit #1 Turning on the light of Hope each day.

In order to overcome the world, master the physical body, become spiritually centered and enjoy the day, one must awaken his soul to the glorious possibilities that awaits him this day. This day is the day to qualify for the riches of eternity, i.e., being invited into paradise, receiving a Celestial body, being with the Savior during the millennium, being lifted up when the Savior comes and receiving the gift of exaltation. The temporal activities, enticements, and adversities of the day are designed perfectly for me to grow spiritually and qualify for the riches of eternity. All I need to do each day is decide to use the day for my spiritual growth by becoming One with Christ; that is to SEE as He sees, THINK as He Thinks, so I can Feel as He feels, and Do as He does. This is how I exercise faith in Christ. The foundation of faith is a Hope to be raised unto Eternal Life. (Moroni 7:40-42, Ether 12:4). Faith is something one does in the now, the today. In order to one to exercise faith today, he must become spiritually focused. That is, one must awaken and arouse his mind and heart unto the Heavens, thus turn on his light of hope that he is a fit candidate for the Celestial Kingdom today. ANd have the Holy Ghost testify to his soul that he is so qualified. What can one do each day to turn on the light of hope? 1. Open the heavens by praying as soon as you wake up. 2. Before you leave for work, or start your day, seek to become spiritually focused by reading from the Book of Mormon for the purpose of feeling the spirit and receiving enlightenment. 3. Review the Plan of Salvation for the purpose of seeing as the Savior sees this day. This will help you become spiritually centered rather than beginning the day being temporally centered. 4. Since you felt the Spirit you have the confirmation that you are still clean, forgiven and still in the straight and narrow path. You are now prepared to exercise fath in the Savior throughout the day.