LINE UPON LINE; PRECEPT UPON PRECEPT

This morning while I was reading in 2 Nephi 28 I came across a couple verses that I have read many times before.  Yet, this time it meant a little bit more to me and my understanding was broadened.

2 Nephi 28:26-31

26Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!


27Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!

28And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.

29Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!

30For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

31Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.

A couple thoughts came to mind: 1) We receive counsel every six months from the Prophet and General Authorities of the Church 2) We have been counseled to read the scriptures daily - specifically The Book of Mormon 3) We have been counseled to pray continually.

What if we decided that we didn't need to listen to or read the Conference Talks?  What if we decided that we didn't need to read our scriptures or say our prayers?  What if we didn't head the counsel of our Priesthood leaders?  What if we decided that we had learned all that we needed to learn?

Every April and October I eagerly anticipate the messages given during General Conference.  I am excited to hear the messages that have been specifically prepared for me.  The messages are meant to inspire us to do good; make ourselves better; give us needed counsel; and sometimes it is designed to repremand.  It is given to each of us to glean from these messages those things that we are required to do; to change and to act upon.  Each step we take is added upon six months later. 

If we choose to not participate in the normal activities afforded Latter Day Saints we will lose the knowledge; comfort; peace and assurance that the Gospel brings.  Basically we start from scratch when we decide to participate again.  What we have learned so far needs to be protected and nourished so that it stays with us; preparing us to gain more wisdom and knowledge in this life.

Heavenly Father desires for us to be better than we are.  He desires for us to have everything he has.  We can't have it all at once.  We gain it a little at a time; when we are ready to receive more.

FRUITY FOLKS

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."  - Galatians 5:22-23

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;"  - Col. 3:12

The fruit of the "Spirit" or the mission of the Holy Ghost is to help us attain God-like qualities.  We are to wear these qualities as attire befitting royalty.  We have been commanded to merciful, kind, gentle, meek and longsuffering.  We should practice patience, humbleness and tolerance.

When we begin to develop these God-like qualities we develop our unique individual personalities.  The fruit of the Spirit is indeed characteristics of Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.  However, we exhibit them in our own unique personalities.  Whether we are like bananas with sensitivie skin protecting any easy-to-bruise interior or the coconut with a hard-as-a-rock exterior covering seet meat within, when we are alive in the Spirit, Heavenly Father's nature is exhibited through the person he has made us to be.

As a mother I need to teach my children how to put on the holy and beloved characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulnees, gentleness and self-control.  My words aren't enough.  I need to pattern my life after the Savior and teach through example.

My fruit basket will be full as will my joy.

THE POWER OF A POSITIVE HEART

God has given us a tool to keep ourselves

 radically happy and peaceful. 

All we have to do is believe.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Hebrews 11:6

A positive, believing heart is one of the heart attitudes that is absolutely vital in our relationship with God.  That may sound funny, since we are called believers.  Don't we all have a believing heart?  No, we don't.  The church is full of "unbelieving believers."

In Matthew 8:13, Jesus says that it shall be done for you as you have believed.  It is amazing how much we can do if we believe we can do it.  We need to get up and start every day by saying over and over, "I believe I can; I believe I can."

When the adversary starts screaming in our ears that we can't get what we are believing God for, we need the heart oand mind of Joshua and Caleb that says, "Let's go and take the Promised Land because we are well able to do so."    We need to have the kind of believing heart that says, "What do You want me to do, Lord?  Whatever it is, I'll do it!"

To live as God intends us to live, the first thing

 we need to do is truly believe that it is God's will for us

 to experience continual joy.  Joy and peace are found

 in believing, and nowhere else.

A MERRY HEART

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Proverbs 17:22

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

Jesus Christ is life, and every good thing He created is part of that life.  We get so caught up in doing and accomplishing, in working and keeping our commitments, that if we are not careful, we will come to the end of our life and suddenly wake up and realize that we never really lived.  Heavenly Father wants us to enjoy life and to live it to the full, til it oveflows.

We have a choice in life.  We can grumble our way through our troubles, or we can sing our way through our troubles with a merry heart.  Either way, we have to go through troubles, so why not take the joy of the Lord as our strength and be filled with energy and vitality.

In John 15 Jesus talks about abiding in Him.  In verse 11 He says,  "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."  Jesus Christ wants us to have a merry heart.  He wants us to put a smile on our face so everybody around us can feel happy and secure.

Don't spend your life waiting for things to change before you can become happy.  Learn to be happy now.

A CONFIDENT HEART

Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

Psalm 27:3

Not only must our heart be fixed and steadfast, it must also be confident.  I have discovered that staying confident is a key to being positive in my mind and overall life.

Lucifer is constantly trying to introduce thoughts into my head to make me lose my confidence.  Teh mind is the battlefield, and the devil lies to everyone through wrong thinking.  The one thing that he's trying to steal all the time is our confidence.

The devil doesn't want us to have confidence in prayer.  He doesn't want us to believe we can hear from our Father in Heaven.  He discourages us concerning the call of God on our life.  He wants us to go around feeling like a failure.

We need to confidently declare what the scriptures say about us, such as, "I am a divine son or daughter of Heavenly Father.  I can do all things through Jesus Christ; who strengthens me.  I am of divine worth."  This means that we have Heavenly Father and the Lord on our side.  They will help us along the way.  They will speak truth to us.

We need to get up every morning prepared to keep the adversary beneath our feet.

A STEADFAST HEART

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise."

Psalm 57:7

To have a fixed heart means to have our mind made up so tha we are not going to change it.  If we are going to experience any kind of victory andd be positive in our lives, we must be determined.  If we are going to see the fulfillment of Heavenly Father's will, walk in or follow the leading of the Holy Ghost, or accompolish anything worthwhile in this life, we must set our face like flint.

And we must understand that the adversary is not going to roll out a red carpet for us just because we decide to get saved and serve our Father in Heaven.  He is going to oppose us at every turn.

The problem is that because of the mentality of our society, we are always looking for something easy.  We have to be determined to do the will of God, to stay positive and happy, and to walk in His peace.  His will won't just happen in our life.  We are partners with Him, and we must do our part.  Part of what hwe have to do is never give up!

WHAT SIMPLICITY DOES

Eases our stress

Clears away our clutter

Increases our appreciation

Clarifies our priorities

Purifies our hearts

Uplifts our spirits

Settles our emotions

Encourages our friends

Deepens our peace

Builds our character

Dr. Steve Stephens

Psychologist and seminar speaker