Church April 10th, 2011

• Secure your temple recommend and live each day to keep yourself worthy to go in.
• Leviticus 19:30 "Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD."
• D&C 25:10 "seek for the things of a better."
• Moses 5:7
• Moses 6:63 "all things bear record of me."
• D&C 88:67 "if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light."
• As you follow the Lord, a light will shine forth from you. As you continue to follow the Lord in your life, that light will grow brighter through the years as long as you stay faithful until the day it becomes the brightest, which is the day you become like Him; perfect.
• D&C 109:1-5, 10, 14-15, 22, 72-73
• "..out of our poverty we have given of our substance to build a house to thy name, that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people." (5)
• "And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house may be taught words of wisdom out of the best books, and that they may seek learning even by study, and also by faith, as thou hast said;" (14)
• "And that they may grow up in thee, and receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost, and be organized according to thy laws, and be prepared to obtain every needful thing;" (15)
• "We ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them;" (22)
• "That thy church may come forth..and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun.." (73)

Agency

The power to choose.

We are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:27).

"In this life, people continue to have agency; even if their personal freedoms are restricted or taken away, they can choose how to feel and react." (lds.org)

Agency plays a huge part in our lives.

Life is so hard and full of challenges and surprises. Just remember, we are here for a purpose.

This life is a test, so I believe that with whatever we face, we can go to the Lord for help and guidance.

He will be our guide and strength throughout our lives and through the trials we go through. He will be our comforter.

But, we need to go to Him first to receive those blessings.

"Without the gift of agency, we would have been unable to show our Heavenly Father whether we would do all that He commanded us. Because we are able to choose, we are responsible for our actions (see Helaman 14:30–31)." (lds.org)

"Modern revelation makes it clear that agency is a gift from our Heavenly Father to allow us to choose obedience, which leads us to eternal life." -L. Lionel Kendrick

"While the freedom to choose involves the risk of mistakes, it also offers the opportunity, through our Father’s plan, to overcome them." -Spencer J. Condie

“Thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee.” -Mosiah 3:17

"And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.

"Wherefore, the Lord God 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 2:15-16

"That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment."

-D&C 101:78

"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothfu and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward." -D&C 58:26-28

"And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.

"He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you."

-Helaman 14:30-31

"When we choose to live according to God’s plan for us, our agency is strengthened. Right choices increase our power to make more right choices.

"As we obey each of our Father’s commandments, we grow in wisdom and strength of character. Our faith increases. We find it easier to make right choices.

"We began to make choices as spirit children in our Heavenly Father’s presence. Our choices there made us worthy to come to earth. Our Heavenly Father wants us to grow in faith, power, knowledge, wisdom, and all other good things. If we keep His commandments and make right choices, we will learn and understand. We will become like Him. (See D&C 93:28.)" (lds.org)

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Alma 26:12

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in his land, for which we will praise his name forever."

As I read, "in his strength I can do all things", I realize how I am only a small person that can only do so much with out the help from my Heavenly Father. But, it does give me confidence knowing that as long as I submit my will to His and do all I can to try and follow Him, He will give me all the strength in the world to do great things. 

I shall not be afraid, but rejoice and go forward with faith and endure to the end...