What makes me, Me?

Today as I was sitting in church, I began pondering the question. What makes me, me? what makes me "tick" the way I do, what causes me to bend over backwards all the time for everyone, and what makes me even ask this question of what makes me, me?

The answer? God.

God makes me, me. God is the reason I tick the way I do, He's the reason I love what  comes my way, and He is the reason I am who I am. God has a body, but his spirit is in me, he's you, and he's in everything around us. He's given me everything so when someone asks me for my help, I know I'm being asked to be the Lord's Hands in that hour. We all have that wonderful ability. To be The Lords hands. to serve others. to love others when no one else is there to love them, to lift them out of darkness, to mourn with them through their sorrows, and to joyfully celebrate with them through their achievements. 

When I was baptized, I took upon myself the name of Christ, to do as he would, to follow him. He is the ultimate example of love. the perfect love. charity. how do we show charity day to day? do we say we are followers or Christ? or do we show that we are followers of Christ? without faith, hope, and charity...there is nothing here for us. no clarity, happiness, or purpose. just confusion and misery. I'm thankful for God, he's creations and me. I'm thankful for his plan, I know Christ atoned for me and you and everyone, so that God's plan would work. without Christ and his atonement, this would all be void. and we would be stuck at death. But God's plan is more brilliant. we will live again, with our families, with our friends, and with our Father in Heaven if we are faithful and hopeful and charitable here. and accept his gospel, His RESTORED gospel. To have faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repent, be baptized by proper authority, to recieve the holy ghost by the laying on of hands, and endure to the end. and we are promised if we endure, we will have eternal life! is this not something worth living for? 

what makes me, me? what makes me "tick" the way I do? 

God, and his plan for me. 

This isn't a surprise to most people, and I have known this fact my whole life but never really said, "Hey look, I know this is a fact."...Well, I know for a fact when I'm not caught up in my own world, with my own problems, and my own success, time goes by quicker. and when I'm not caught up in my own world...my own world just happens to be created just to my liking. and when I'm helping someone else with their problems, I find solutions to my own. and when I see a way to help someone succeed, I succeed a little on my own.

Do unto others as you would have done unto you, they say. The first great commandment is to love the Lord thy God, and the second is like unto it... Love thy neighbor. Love thy Enemy, The Savior taught. Give him your coat.And when they smite your cheek, turn the other one.Honor thy father and thy mother.Keep the sabbath day holy. John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments"

There are many commandments that Heavenly Father has given us. through the scriptures, The Old Testament, The New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price we can learn what the Lord asks of us. We also have a Prophet on the Earth to day, who is the Mouth piece of the Lord. I know, there is a prophet on the earth today. His name is Thomas S Monson, and every 6 months, I sustain him as such. But how do I know? I know because I asked my Heavenly father in prayer, I studied the scriptures, and I read the book that is the keystone of my religion, The Book of Mormon. I prayed to know if it is true scripture, and guess what? IT IS! since that 531 paged book of scripture is true, then Heavenly Father did call Joseph Smith to be a prophet in 1820! and we have had a living prophet on the earth ever since. Think of it, a "Moses" to deliver us out of bondage. spiritual bondage, in all its severity of degrees. 

Hymn 21 Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice, Verse 2:"The gloom of sullen darkness spreadThru earth's extended spaceIs banished by our living Head, And God has shown his face. Thru errring schemes in days now pastThe world has gone astray;Yet Saints of God have found at last The straight and narrow way."

The straight and narrow way, involves keeping the commandments of the Lord. and Keeping the commandments takes a lot of effort and even more sacrifice. 

Sacrifice: an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else  regarded as more important or worthy. what is it, that is more important that the Lord has to offer, then the materials of this world? Eternal Life, with our families, in the presence of Heavenly Father. Which is the greatest gift, he can give.  However, we must be pure and clean through obedience in order to do so. being disobedient moves us away from Him. There's a ton of commandments, and I will be the first to say I am not perfect! no one is! if we were we wouldn't be here on this earth. The Lord knew,  we would mess up.. he provided us, a way to be successful. Central to our Father's plan is Jesus Christ's atonement, which includes Christ's Suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane as well as His suffering and death on the cross. Through the Atonement we can be freed from the burden of our sins and develop faith and strength to face any trial that comes our way. And we can do that through practice. 

practice keeping the commandments. work a little each day. pray often, serve  often, and read the scriptures daily. listen and heed to the prophet's words. be doers of the work not hearers only. ask for forgiveness and also strength, that Christ can give you. I'm not a Christian because I have life all put together, and I'm successful. I'm Christian, because I am flawed, and weak and need a Savior. and through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I can be freed from spiritual bondage, and find success while helping others, and that brings true happiness.