-Father, I am grateful unto Thee, that Thou has given me my agency. Help me this day to take charge of what I think, what I feel & what I do.
-Father, I have given the power Thou has given me to (whom or what), help me to take it back. In fact, help me take back the power or agency from all people. I will give no one the power to judge me or decide my value or worth. For that is my job to create high value and worth within my temple. Only Thou can judge me, and Thou always does that with love and through chosen servants.
-Father, my son is late. Help me to focus spiritually, so my faith will be sufficient to bring him home safety. I choose to stay up until he gets home. I choose to use this time to grow spiritually. I use this time to be steadfast in Christ. Help me Father to overcome this problem. Thou hast given me this stewardship & I desire to fulfill it because I love Thee. The tiredness I am feeling, the long hours I must wait, the unfairness of his lateness, I am willing to suffer for Thee.
NOTE: The parent who chooses to focus temporally, will worry. How? He will see the son being kidnapped, on drugs, in a car accident, picked up by the police, etc... By the time the son gets home, he is an emotional wreck, and who gets all the blame? The son, for making him worry (DISOWNING). By the way, disowning is very hard some people to give up because it makes them responsible for what they do, think, and feel. But the good news is that when one take this power of agency back, Heavenly Father can now expand that power of agency to overcome all things.
What the Prophets say;
"But where do we find hope in the midst of such turmoil and catastrophe? Quite simply, our hope for spiritual safety during these turbulent times is to turn our minds and our hearts to Jesus Christ...Faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ is absolutely essential for us to maintain a balanced perspective through times of trial and difficulty."
(M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, Nov 1992, pp. 32-33)
"After all, you have the right to make your own choices. That is correct. You have that right. It is your agency. The secret to solve problems in your life will be found in understanding and using the eternally beneficial interaction of your agency and His Truth... Simply state, one must use his energy to obey truth...Please understand that no one can change truth. Rationalization, overpowering self interest, akk of the arguments of men, anger, or self will cannot change truth. Satan knows that, so he tries to create an atmosphere where one unwittingly begins to feel that he can not only choose what to do, but can determine what is right to do. Satan strives to persuade us to live outside truth by rationalizing our actions as the right of choice. But our Heavenly Father defined truth and established what is right and wrong before the creation of this earth. He also fixed consequences of obedience and disobedience to those truths...Satan would try to persuade some to live without fixed standards in life so that decisions would be based on current circumstances, what appears convenient, or what provides the greatest personal return. In this way, Satan removes the power of truth from one's life so he can take that soul captive."
(Richard G. Scott, Nov 1992, pp. 60-62)
"We tend to think of agency as a personal matter. If we ask someone to define 'moral agency', the answer will probably be something like this; "Moral agency means I am free to make choices for myself." Often overlooked is the fact that choices have consequences; we forget also that agency offers the same privilege of choice to others. At times we will be affected adversely by the way other people choose to exercise their agency. Our Heavenly Father feels so strongly about protecting our agency that he allows his children to exercise it, either for good or evil...
We mortals have a limited view of life from the eternal perspective. But if we know and understand Heavenly Father's plan, we realize that dealing with adversity is one of the chief ways we are tested. Our faith in our Heavenly Father and his Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, is the source of inner strength. Through faith we find peace, comfort, and the courage to endure. As we trust in God and His plan for our happiness with all our hearts and lean not unto our own understanding, hope is born. Hope grows out of faith and gives meaning and purpose to all we do. It can give us comfort in the face of adversity, strength in times of trials, and peace when we have reason for doubt or anguish."
(M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, May 1995, pp. 23-24)
Showing posts with label #5 Use ENTICEMENTS for Spiritual Growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #5 Use ENTICEMENTS for Spiritual Growth. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
HEAVENLY FATHER HAS GIVEN ME THE POWER TO CHOOSE WHAT I THINK, WHAT I FEEL AND WHAT I DO
Man is free because of several conditions, which Lehi reviews in 2 Nephi 2:26-29. He teaches that man is free because he has been redeemed from the fall and he knows the difference between good & evil. This freedom provides one:
1. The power to choose
2. The power to act
3. The power to know good from evil, light from darkness
Therefore, man is free to become spiritually centered or temporally centered. One can overcome this world, master the body, and qualify for the riches of eternity. But there is one big problem. Satan. He fought agency in the pre-existence, and he is fighting it here. How does he do it?
One of the most effective ways to get each of us to give up this power of agency, is to DISOWN. Disowning is making something or someone else responsible for what I think, how I feel& what I do in the current moment of time. I use blaming or labeling to accomplish disownership.
Example:
1. Traffic makes me this mad.
2. My five children cause me to yell.
3. My parents did the same I do.
4. It's the IRS that makes me mad.
5. I do not feel accepted by the ward.
6. Food makes me do it.
7. I just cannot save money.
8. I will never make it to the Celestial Kingdom.
Why is disowning so popular? Because it allows the participant the opportunity to do nothing. His solution is to get others to change so he can feel better without any effort on his/her part. He has given his power of agency to others, to make him happy. The mother will say, "I will sure be glad when Mary gets her grades back up, then I won't have all this stress." She has given her daughter the power to produce stress in her temple. WHICH IS A LIE. The mother is using the daughter's poor performance to produce stress withing her temple, which is spiritual darkness. She does this by focusing on the daughter's poor performance, which is temporal.
1. The power to choose
2. The power to act
3. The power to know good from evil, light from darkness
Therefore, man is free to become spiritually centered or temporally centered. One can overcome this world, master the body, and qualify for the riches of eternity. But there is one big problem. Satan. He fought agency in the pre-existence, and he is fighting it here. How does he do it?
One of the most effective ways to get each of us to give up this power of agency, is to DISOWN. Disowning is making something or someone else responsible for what I think, how I feel& what I do in the current moment of time. I use blaming or labeling to accomplish disownership.
Example:
1. Traffic makes me this mad.
2. My five children cause me to yell.
3. My parents did the same I do.
4. It's the IRS that makes me mad.
5. I do not feel accepted by the ward.
6. Food makes me do it.
7. I just cannot save money.
8. I will never make it to the Celestial Kingdom.
Why is disowning so popular? Because it allows the participant the opportunity to do nothing. His solution is to get others to change so he can feel better without any effort on his/her part. He has given his power of agency to others, to make him happy. The mother will say, "I will sure be glad when Mary gets her grades back up, then I won't have all this stress." She has given her daughter the power to produce stress in her temple. WHICH IS A LIE. The mother is using the daughter's poor performance to produce stress withing her temple, which is spiritual darkness. She does this by focusing on the daughter's poor performance, which is temporal.
**ALL SOLUTIONS TO ALL PROBLEMS ARE FOUND IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD**
The mother tells herself that she is responsible for Mary's poor grades, and a good LDS mother wouldn't have these kinds of problems. All of which are lies. How can one tell? The Holy Ghost does not confirm these statements. What could the mother do to remove the stress? She could go to the spiritual world and seek divine guidance (help). She could review the plan of salvation each morning, pray, read scriptures, and seek spiritual enlightenment until she felt the Spirit. This would confirm that she still is in the strait & narrow path, clean & forgiven, & still a candidate for the Celestial Kingdom. Now that she has hope to be raised up unto Eternal Life, she is prepared to seek divine help with her stewardship to help her daughter, on Heavenly Father & Heavenly Mothers behalf, about her power of agency which can produce results that will bring happiness. She now sees this situation as her opportunity to be steadfast in Christ & practice overcoming the world.
Another example of using one's agency to focus spiritually
Another person who would get mad in traffic, when other drivers would pull in front of him or turn & not signal, or drive too close, or drive too fast, decided to overcome his problem. First, he recognized that he was giving his power of agency to other drivers. Next, he recognized that these drivers were only giving him enticements to see if he would react or respond. He decided to respond. How did he do it?
Whenever a driver enticed him, he would thank Heavenly Father for the reminder, then he would mentally go into the Garden of Gethsemane & feel the sacrifice of the Savior paying for his mistakes, and ask God to help him love the Savior's sacrifice more than the act of the driver. Her heart soften and tears would come to his eyes. He was lucky because he lived around a lot of drivers that would help him go the Garden of Gethsemane. He said that he grew spiritually every time he would drive the car. He felt he had learned how to use the enticements of this world to grow spiritually, and he had learned how to make progress in overcoming this world. One who disowns, would honk, yell, etc... trying to get the other person to change so they could feel better.
-One driver said he overcame the same problem by just picturing the Savior in each car. The Savior had the right of way any time He wanted.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
THE IMPORTANCE OF OVERCOMING OUR WEAKNESSES
Elder Melvin J. Ballard:
"I grant you that the righteous dead will be at peace, but I tell you that when we go out of this life, leave this body, we will yearn to do a thousand things that we cannot do at all without the body, and how handicapped we will be, and realize then like a man who has suddenly lost both arms and his legs. We will be seriously handicapped, and we will long for the body; we will crave it; we will pray for that early reunion with our bodies. We will know then what advantage it was to have a body. Then, every man and woman who is putting off until the next life the task of correcting and overcoming the weakness of the flesh are sentencing themselves to that man years of bondage, for no man or woman will come forth in the resurrection until they have completed their work, until they have overcome, until they have corrected, until they have done as much as they can do. That is why Jesus said in the resurrection there is neither marriage or giving in marriage, for all such contracts agreements will be provided for those who are worthy of it before men and women come forth in the resurrection of the Lord, and those who are complying in this life with these conditions are shortening their sentences, for every one of us will have a matter of years in that spirit state to complete and finish their salvation. And some may attain, by reason of their righteousness in this life, the right to do post-graduate work, to be admitted into the Celestial Kingdom, but others will lose absolutely the right to that glory, all they can do will not avail after death to bring them into the Celestial Kingdom.
The point I have in mind is that we are sentencing ourselves to long periods of bond- age, separating our spirits from our bodies, or we are shortening that period, according to the way in which we overcome and master ourselves." (Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard, Bryant S. Hinckley. pp. 241-242)
"A man may receive the priesthood and all its privileges and blessings, but until he learns to overcome the flesh, his temper, his tongue, his disposition to indulge in the things God has forbidden, he cannot come into the Celestial Kingdom of God until he overcomes either in this life or in the life to come."
"...it is my judgment that any man or woman can do more to conform to the laws of God in one year in this life than they could in ten years when they are dead." (Ibid pp. 240-241)
" It is true that some have greater power of resistance than others, but everyone has the power to close his heart against doubt, against darkness, against unbelief, against anger, against hatred, against jealousy, against malice, against envy. God has given this power by calling upon Him for that which we lack. If it were not so, how could we be condemned for giving way to wrong influences?" (George Q Cannon, Gospel Truth. pp. 19-20)
"I grant you that the righteous dead will be at peace, but I tell you that when we go out of this life, leave this body, we will yearn to do a thousand things that we cannot do at all without the body, and how handicapped we will be, and realize then like a man who has suddenly lost both arms and his legs. We will be seriously handicapped, and we will long for the body; we will crave it; we will pray for that early reunion with our bodies. We will know then what advantage it was to have a body. Then, every man and woman who is putting off until the next life the task of correcting and overcoming the weakness of the flesh are sentencing themselves to that man years of bondage, for no man or woman will come forth in the resurrection until they have completed their work, until they have overcome, until they have corrected, until they have done as much as they can do. That is why Jesus said in the resurrection there is neither marriage or giving in marriage, for all such contracts agreements will be provided for those who are worthy of it before men and women come forth in the resurrection of the Lord, and those who are complying in this life with these conditions are shortening their sentences, for every one of us will have a matter of years in that spirit state to complete and finish their salvation. And some may attain, by reason of their righteousness in this life, the right to do post-graduate work, to be admitted into the Celestial Kingdom, but others will lose absolutely the right to that glory, all they can do will not avail after death to bring them into the Celestial Kingdom.
The point I have in mind is that we are sentencing ourselves to long periods of bond- age, separating our spirits from our bodies, or we are shortening that period, according to the way in which we overcome and master ourselves." (Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard, Bryant S. Hinckley. pp. 241-242)
"A man may receive the priesthood and all its privileges and blessings, but until he learns to overcome the flesh, his temper, his tongue, his disposition to indulge in the things God has forbidden, he cannot come into the Celestial Kingdom of God until he overcomes either in this life or in the life to come."
"...it is my judgment that any man or woman can do more to conform to the laws of God in one year in this life than they could in ten years when they are dead." (Ibid pp. 240-241)
" It is true that some have greater power of resistance than others, but everyone has the power to close his heart against doubt, against darkness, against unbelief, against anger, against hatred, against jealousy, against malice, against envy. God has given this power by calling upon Him for that which we lack. If it were not so, how could we be condemned for giving way to wrong influences?" (George Q Cannon, Gospel Truth. pp. 19-20)
Friday, March 27, 2009
THE PURPOSE OF ENTICEMENTS
Lehi teaches that this world has been set up with enticements for the purpose of forcing us to act.
"Wherefore, the Lord gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other." (2 Nephi 2:16)
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR ENTICEMENTS?
1. Food
2. Drivers in traffic
3. Fighting children
4. Swearing at work
5. Telephone
6. Neighbors
7. TV
8. Internet
9. World news
10. Bills
11. Health problems
12. Politics
13. Chocolate
Each of us have the choice to either focus on the enticement and let it consume our thoughts & feelings. Or we can use the enticement to remind us to seek spiritual help. What would happen if we decided to use all our enticements to remind ourselves to focus spiritually? We would find it easier to pray always.
Why are we upon this earth?
-To overcome this world. To master our body, to become steadfast in Christ. To grow spiritually until we overcome all things. To prove to God that we will "submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon us." (Mosiah 3:19)
How can we master the body, overcome the world, and become one with Christ without focusing our minds & hearts spiritually? Enticements are provided in this world to help us choose between focusing spiritually or temporally. A temporal focus is easy. It takes no effort to let the enticements of this world take control of your thoughts & feelings, and the results are not good. A temporal focus puts us in a position of being tossed to & fro in this world.
It does take effort to focus our thoughts & feelings unto the spiritual world. As we change our paradigm, which matches the Saviors, we are able to use the enticements of this world as stepping stones for our spiritual growth. Let us assume that we now believe, and the Spirit has now confirmed that the purpose of the day is for us to:
1. Increase our hope to be raised unto eternal life
2. practice exercising our faith in Jesus Christ, and
3. Seeking to love God and all men.
Therefore, the first thing in the morning, before getting into the days activities, I pray, read from the Book of Mormon, and seek a confirmation that I am in the straight & narrow path. Next, I ask Heavenly Father to help me use the enticements of the day to draw closer to Him. Then I prepare my mind & heart to handle at least 20 enticements throughout the day for Him.
While driving to work, someone pulls out in front of me causing me to slow down very quickly (an enticement). I immediately thank Heavenly Father for protecting me, and for the opportunity to practice transcending the temporal enticements and come unto Him. I feel the Spirit come upon me and then I rejoice that I was counted worthy to receive. Throughout the day, I had 15 to 16 enticements, all of which helped me to draw closer to my Father in Heaven. I now understand how to use the enticements of this world to help me ENJOY THE DAY, and make it worthwhile.
EVEN WEAKNESSES ARE ENTICEMENTS!
The Prophet Ether received instructions from the Lord on how to overcome weaknesses.
" And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then I will make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)
Weaknesses are developed from a temporal focus. They become strength as we use them to refocus unto the spiritual world for help. For example, food can be a weakness. It can entice me several times a day. The world is set up perfectly to entice me to eat. The TV is constantly encouraging me to eat or drink something. There is a restaurant every where I look, telling me about their specials. People are inviting me out to eat. And my body loves to eat, even if I am not hungry.
I have two choices when it comes to this food weakness.
Choice #1 I can do whatever my body urges me to do, as it is enticed by food.
Choice #2 Or I can use the enticing of food to remind me to pray for help, as I learn to master this body.
The Savior recommends that I bring the weakness unto Him and He will make weak things become strong unto me. Therefore, I decided to get rooted the second thought pattern of Christ, which is developing high feelings of self worth the Saviors way. I now use the emotional enticements of food to remind me to pray & review with Heavenly Father how He feels about me, who I am and how He wants me to treat myself. Every time I am enticed, rather than struggling with food, I am now using the enticement to help me feel who I am, and how much Heavenly Father loves me. The Holy Ghost is confirming this truth and I am growing spiritually stronger. This weakness is helping me to become a stronger person.
The weakness is getting weaker, because I am no longer feeding the weakness. I am no longer letting the urges of my body tell me what to do, and I just obey. I am in charge of what I think, feel & do, not my body. The physical world has a lesser hold on me, because I am using the enticements of the physical world to become spiritually centered. My love for Heavenly Father and the Savior is increasing which gives me stronger emotions to overcome the emotional pull of the temporal world.
I am enjoying my days more because even my weaknesses are helping me to become spiritually stronger. I am able to use everything that happens to me each day for spiritual growth. And now that I am in charge of me, not my body, my body is getting the kind of foods that are healthy, which also reduces the addictions for certain foods.
"Wherefore, the Lord gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other." (2 Nephi 2:16)
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR ENTICEMENTS?
1. Food
2. Drivers in traffic
3. Fighting children
4. Swearing at work
5. Telephone
6. Neighbors
7. TV
8. Internet
9. World news
10. Bills
11. Health problems
12. Politics
13. Chocolate
Each of us have the choice to either focus on the enticement and let it consume our thoughts & feelings. Or we can use the enticement to remind us to seek spiritual help. What would happen if we decided to use all our enticements to remind ourselves to focus spiritually? We would find it easier to pray always.
Why are we upon this earth?
-To overcome this world. To master our body, to become steadfast in Christ. To grow spiritually until we overcome all things. To prove to God that we will "submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon us." (Mosiah 3:19)
How can we master the body, overcome the world, and become one with Christ without focusing our minds & hearts spiritually? Enticements are provided in this world to help us choose between focusing spiritually or temporally. A temporal focus is easy. It takes no effort to let the enticements of this world take control of your thoughts & feelings, and the results are not good. A temporal focus puts us in a position of being tossed to & fro in this world.
It does take effort to focus our thoughts & feelings unto the spiritual world. As we change our paradigm, which matches the Saviors, we are able to use the enticements of this world as stepping stones for our spiritual growth. Let us assume that we now believe, and the Spirit has now confirmed that the purpose of the day is for us to:
1. Increase our hope to be raised unto eternal life
2. practice exercising our faith in Jesus Christ, and
3. Seeking to love God and all men.
Therefore, the first thing in the morning, before getting into the days activities, I pray, read from the Book of Mormon, and seek a confirmation that I am in the straight & narrow path. Next, I ask Heavenly Father to help me use the enticements of the day to draw closer to Him. Then I prepare my mind & heart to handle at least 20 enticements throughout the day for Him.
While driving to work, someone pulls out in front of me causing me to slow down very quickly (an enticement). I immediately thank Heavenly Father for protecting me, and for the opportunity to practice transcending the temporal enticements and come unto Him. I feel the Spirit come upon me and then I rejoice that I was counted worthy to receive. Throughout the day, I had 15 to 16 enticements, all of which helped me to draw closer to my Father in Heaven. I now understand how to use the enticements of this world to help me ENJOY THE DAY, and make it worthwhile.
EVEN WEAKNESSES ARE ENTICEMENTS!
The Prophet Ether received instructions from the Lord on how to overcome weaknesses.
" And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then I will make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)
Weaknesses are developed from a temporal focus. They become strength as we use them to refocus unto the spiritual world for help. For example, food can be a weakness. It can entice me several times a day. The world is set up perfectly to entice me to eat. The TV is constantly encouraging me to eat or drink something. There is a restaurant every where I look, telling me about their specials. People are inviting me out to eat. And my body loves to eat, even if I am not hungry.
I have two choices when it comes to this food weakness.
Choice #1 I can do whatever my body urges me to do, as it is enticed by food.
Choice #2 Or I can use the enticing of food to remind me to pray for help, as I learn to master this body.
The Savior recommends that I bring the weakness unto Him and He will make weak things become strong unto me. Therefore, I decided to get rooted the second thought pattern of Christ, which is developing high feelings of self worth the Saviors way. I now use the emotional enticements of food to remind me to pray & review with Heavenly Father how He feels about me, who I am and how He wants me to treat myself. Every time I am enticed, rather than struggling with food, I am now using the enticement to help me feel who I am, and how much Heavenly Father loves me. The Holy Ghost is confirming this truth and I am growing spiritually stronger. This weakness is helping me to become a stronger person.
The weakness is getting weaker, because I am no longer feeding the weakness. I am no longer letting the urges of my body tell me what to do, and I just obey. I am in charge of what I think, feel & do, not my body. The physical world has a lesser hold on me, because I am using the enticements of the physical world to become spiritually centered. My love for Heavenly Father and the Savior is increasing which gives me stronger emotions to overcome the emotional pull of the temporal world.
I am enjoying my days more because even my weaknesses are helping me to become spiritually stronger. I am able to use everything that happens to me each day for spiritual growth. And now that I am in charge of me, not my body, my body is getting the kind of foods that are healthy, which also reduces the addictions for certain foods.
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