Hey ya'll, its been awhile. i'm gonna try to be better at this thing here called a blog.
the last month i have been doing alot of LDS Gospel reading, and i can honestly say its been one of the most challenging, but fortifying things i have done. my testimony is growing from what i read. not only what i read, but what i am applying to my own life. its so amazing to think that changing one tiny thing in your life, can put a hugh spin on the out come.
i don't really have much to write personally, but i have been reading the book, "press on" by elder b worthlin. and last night i read something that my soul has been searching for, for quite sometime. and i really want to share it, because it is soo good, and anyone can take head to this message.
"...I want to list a few of the characteristics of the happiest people i know have in common. they are qualities that can transform ordinary existence into a life of abundance.
"first they drink deeply from living waters
''the savior taught that, "whosoever drinketh of the water that i shall give him shall never thirst; [for it] shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (john 4:13, 14). fully understood and embraced, the gospel of jesus christ heals broken hearts, infuses meaning into lives, binds loved ones together with ties that transend mortality, and brings to life a sublime joy.
"president Lorenzo Snow said, "the lord has not given us the gospel that we may go around mourning all the days of our lives" (Teachings of Lorenzo snow, (61-62). The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a religion of mourning and gloom. the faith of our fathers is one of morning, hope, and joy. it is not a gospel of chains but wings...
"do you seek peace of mind?
"drink deeply of living water.
"do you seek forgiveness? peace? understanding? joy?
"drink deeply of living waters...
"the abundant life is a spiritual life...
"do you wish to partake of this living water and experience that divine well springing up within you to everlasting life? then be not afraid. believe with all your hearts. develop an unshakeable faith in the son of god, and let your hearts reach out in earnest prayer...lay your sins on the altar of sacrifice and forsake them. joyously walk in holiness and in harmony with the commandments.
"drink deeply lo the living waters of the gospel of jesus christ.
"second, they fill their hearts with love
"love is at the core of the gospel...we often never know the reach of a simple act of kindness...president gordon b hinckley has said that those who reach out to life and serve others "will come to know a happiness...never known before. heaven knows there are so very, very, very many people in this world who need help. oh, so very, very much. let's get the cankering, selfish attitude out of our lives, my brothers and sisters, and stand a little taller and reach a little higher in the service of others" (liverpool england fireside, 31 august 1995).
"third, they creat a masterpiece of their lives
"no matter our age, circumstances, or abilities, each of us can create something remarkable of our life. david saw himself as a shepherd, but the lord saw him as a king. joseph of egypt served as a slave, but the lord saw him as a seer. mormon wore the armor of a soldier, but the lord saw him as a prophet.
"we are sons and daughters of an immortal, loving, and all-powerful father in heaven...every one of us has potential we can scarcely imagine.
"the apostle paul wrote, "eye hath not see, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which god hath prepared for them that love him" (1 cor. 2:9). how is it possible, then, that so many see themselves merely as an old, gray gelding that isn't good for much more than scrap? there is a spark of greatness within everyone of us -- a gift from our loving and eternal heavenly father. what we do with that gift is up to us...
"the abundant life does not come to us packaged and ready-made. it's not something we can order and expect to find delivered with the afternoon mail. it does not come with out hardship or sorrow. it comes through faith, hope, charity, and perseverance. it comes to those who, inspite of hardship and sorrow, understand the words of one writer who said, "in the depth of winter, i finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer" (albert camus, l'ete, 1954, 155-56)....
"who knows of what we are capable if we only try? the abundant life is within our reach if we will drink deeply of living water, fill our hearts with love, and create of our lives a materpiece."
