A Little Testimonial/Devotional

This is a post from my personal blog that I felt I should post on here too. Hope you enjoy a little Spiritual boost from our dear Sister Dew :)

"Jesus Christ Himself has promised, 'Draw near unto me & I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently & ye shall find me; ask, & ye shall receive; knock, & it shall be opened unto you' (Doctrine & Covenants 88:63). There are no disclaimers or exceptions in His invitation. We are the ones who determine whether or not we will come unto Him. The drawing near, seeking, asking, & knocking are up to us. And the more we know about the Lord--meaning the more we experience His mercy, devotion, & willingness to guide us even when we may not feel worthy of His direction--the more confident we become that He will respond to our petitions." -Sheri Dew ("No Doubt About It", pg.27)

What an amazing woman. I love reading/listening to her inspiring words.

There's no doubt about it..I know the Church to be true. The Gospel is real, the Holy Spirit is powerful, & I know for a fact our Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ loves us deeply & is watching over us as we walk through this life of turmoil & struggle...but I know by leaning towards our Savior, our burdens, strifes, stresses, aches, pains, & heartaches may be lifted. Which then will bring us peace & comfort, which leads to joy & happiness.

May we take this day, the Sabbath day, & remember Him, our Lord & Savior. To thank Him for all that He has done, for the love that He has given us, & for the chance to be made clean & live with Him & our Father in heaven again.

...It's a wonderful life...

"If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing. In all conditions, we can choose the right with the guidance of the Spirit. We have the gospel of Jesus Christ to shape and guide our lives if we choose it. And with prophets revealing to us our place in the plan of salvation,  we can live with perfect hope and a feeling of peace. We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord's service because we never are. We can feel the love of God. The Savior has promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up. And He always keeps His word."
--President Henry B. Eyring, "Mountains to Climb," Ensign, May 2009, 89-92.

Church on June 10th, 2012

We had some great talks and lessons today, so I wanted to share some of my notes with you!

• We're always in our spiritual battles. Are you going to choose to fight and conquer?
• These are the times that tries men's souls...be prepared for anything that may come. Always try to keep the Spirit with you to fight off the adversary.
• D&C 121--Paul Rands touched base on this a little bit. I just recommend reading the whole chapter though, it's too good to pass up!
• Stay in the "right" places to stay with the Spirit, to have many "bars" (like cell reception). If we don't have good reception, go to higher/better ground. Basically, if you aren't in tune with the Spirit, you may be in a place that may not be where he is. Choose the places you go, the things you do, and the things you say carefully so that he can always dwell with you, to protect you and keep you safe...and not just physically safe, but spiritually safe.
• D&C 123:17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."
• "We cannot do it alone, we must turn to the Lord in prayer" ~President Gordon B. Hinckley
• John 10 "As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep." (v.15)
• It does not matter what happens to us in this life, just as long as we have the Gospel.

(Sunday School)
 Lesson 22: "Have Ye Receive His Image In Your Countenances"

1. Alma 5 - Be prepared to experience a "mighty change of heart".  ~ This is such a great chapter! I recommend reading it...some call it "Alma's Exam"
2. Alma 6 - Zarahemla is humbled and repents. Church is organized.
3. Alma 7 - Alma testifies of Christ in Gideon.

(Relief Society)

• Doctrine and Covenants 42:61 "If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal."
• Our Heavenly Father guides us individually and as a Church through the Holy Ghost.
  
• God manifests Himself to His children in our day just as He has done in ages past.
• The Lord guides His people through revelation to the President of the Church
• We are each entitled to personal inspiration from the Holy Ghost if we obey the commandments.
• The Holy Ghost is a safe guide along the pathway of mortal life.

Institute June 7th, 2012

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frighten us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to SHINE...as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone, and as we let our own light SHINE, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
~Marianne Williamson: quoted by Nelson Mandela

• Matthew 5:14-15 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."
• "The 'B' Attitudes" ~President Gordon B. Hinckley
1. Be Grateful
2. Be Smart
3. Be Clean
4. Be True
5. Be Humble
6. Be Prayerful

• Doctrine and Covenants 10:5 "Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work." {Be Prayerful}
• 3 Nephi 10:10 "And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer." {Be Grateful}
•  Doctrine and Covenants 93:53 "And, verily I say unto you, that it is my will that you should hasten to translate my scriptures, and to obtain a knowledge of history, and of countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this for the salvation of Zion. Amen." {Be Smart}
•  Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?" {Be Smart}
• 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." {Be Clean}
• 1 Timothy 4:12 "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." {Be True}
• Hymn #254 "True to the Faith" {Be True}
• 1 Nephi 13:16 "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them." {Be Humble}
• Principles of Leadership: Setting a good example
• A LEADER leads by example, whether he intends to or not.
• Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.
• We can be walking witnesses and standing sermons to which objective onlookers can say a quiet amen.
• We worry about sensory deprivation because of noise pollution, about nutritional deprivation because of poverty-and we are right to be so concerned. But emulatory deprivation-being without models and exemplars-may be the greatest deprivation of all. For exemplars not only show us that walking the straight and narrow way is possible, but that it is worth doing!
• A good example has twice the value of good advice.
• Every Father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice.
• Nothing is so contagious as example!
• If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a LEADER.
• Whatever you are, be a good one!
• We can't be examples if we're on an ego trip, if we are preoccupied with our needs rather than the needs of those who we serve.
• As in all things, the Ultimate Example is Jesus. I never tire of bearing witness of Him-not alone that He lived and lives-but also HOW He lived! Even in what might be described as small episodes, He gave us such large lessons. He was a fully integrated, righteous individual, perfectly congruent in character. {"Integrity...The Evidence Within"}
• A good LEADER inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great LEADER inspires people to have confidence in themselves.
• When we learn to "shine as lights in the world" {Philippians 2:15} there is no need to seek to be in the spotlight. Such lesser incandescence is of no interest.

Faith without works is dead

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
~James 2:17

  Remember that even though you may have faith in something, you need to put forth the effort to keep it strong, to build it up and make it grand. But if you linger, and you don't continually try to do your best and do those things that are good, both big and small things, it will become small and eventually will not be there.
  Let me remind you though, that none of us are perfect. We have our moments, our days, our months, maybe even years... but it is never too late to try building up that seed of faith again. Heavenly Father is always near, always wanting to help and encourage us. Just remember to read and ponder the scriptures as often as you can, and always have a prayer in your heart, along with praying to your Heavenly Father [preferably vocally] each and every day. The list could go on and on...service, going to church, paying your tithing, reaching out to others, etc...
  I definitely have a lot to work on, but I can't give up on something so great, something that I believe so strongly in. I don't want to give up on the faith and hope that I've worked so hard to get. I want to try my best to keep feeding that seed of faith, and to allow it to grow, along with myself. I know that if I do this, my eternal blessings will be greater than I can ever imagine. And that is my ultimate goal; to live with my family forever, to return home to my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ, to be happy forever...and to continue to grow, always and forever, with the ones I love.