Ponderize Scripture: Matt 20:27 "And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:"
Tuesday 3/1
Gregory Clark Some Lessons on Faith and Fear " continued..."I must choose to proceed on the basis of faith, remembering the Lord's past blessings and believing in and acting upon my hope in His promises. I have to do that even when the evidence of present trouble is almost overwhelming. I have to remind myself constantly to choose faith and keep choosing faith in the face of realities that seem to contradict it and to do that for as long as it takes...I have to remind myself that this choice of faith will, sooner or later, result in answers to my prayers and miracles in my life." It comes down to choice. No matter my circumstance I can choose to have faith or I can choose to be fearful. The more that I trust and remember what the Lord has done and will continue to do for me the easier it is to exercise faith. I wonder if that is why giving thanks, prayer, scripture study, the sacrament are all vitally important--to how my to remember which helps to strengthen my faith. "It may be only in the moments when I am filled with faith, crowding out my fears, that I make myself available to the healing and enabling power of the Atonement." It is in those moments of deep and sincere prayer, pondering in the temple and in the scriptures, thinking about the Savior that I feel my Savior's love and the uplifting power of the Atonement. How grateful and happy I feel about this.
"Without our constant choice to keep the Atonement active in our lives, peace and happiness and positive change really are out of our reach." It is an active process to be reminded of what the Atonement is and what it can do in our lives. It is a daily process. How can I do this?
"We have our experiences, in our scriptures, in our doctrines, and particularly in our covenants His promises of salvation in both this life and the next. But our problems, so insistently and empirically present to us in each moment, are almost always more real to us than those promises. If we choose that reality to live in, we choose fear over faith." This is so intriguing. That makes sense; sometimes when I overthink things my reality turns to fear because I am not including the faith promoting thoughts and experiences in my thinking. That is one reason to always try to apply the scriptures and doctrines into my life...it promotes faith.
"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out...Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us...If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." -President Hinckley- I love this so much!! Constantly remind myself to put my trust in God.
Wednesday 3/2
Gregory Clark Some Lessons on Faith and Fear " continued..."Every time I find myself fearful, sooner or later I realize that I am not being particularly humble. I realize I have been trying to live my life and solve my problems on my own terms and with my own capacities--my own intellect, usually--and have forgotten to trust instead the power and plan of the Lord." I find this an interesting sign. Humility cultivates faith; the opposite of humility cultivates fear. When I try to lead my own life it will lead me to fear. "Pride is reliance on our own judgment, our own capacities, and our own purposes, unsubordinated to the Lord's." I really like this definition, pride is not including the Lord in all aspects of my life. "As we increase in learning and skill, as we compete with and compare ourselves with others, we begin to rely on ourselves rather than on the Lord. But deep in our hearts we know how limited we really are. So we work and live in fear." This makes so much sense. The fear is that I am limited and not knowing of the future, but if I relied on the Lord then through him I would see the future through his eyes including tender mercies from the Holy Ghost. "I think that we, too, are happiest when we understand clearly our relationship with our Master--our Savior--and give our hearts and will entirely to Him." Self-evaluation: how am I doing in coming to know more my Savior and my Heavenly Father? Coming to them and seeking them brings the faith to move forward with the future. How can I do better in cultivating faith? I want this and feel so incapable of it sometimes. That is where I go wrong; I am trying to do it myself (pride) instead of seeking the Lord's help (humility).
Thursday 3/3
Gregory Clark Some Lessons on Faith and Fear " continued..."By choosing to live our lives within the context of this ongoing process of repentance and renewal, we keep our covenants. And through keeping our covenants we change, and are changed, for the better...Fear is the primary target of this repentance and renewal process. And fear is the prompting to turn, and return, to the Lord--a process that begins in an act of humility. In humility we choose faith, and faith becomes the channel through which the Lord blesses us with hope and miracles and perfect love." I hadn't realized how integral repentance is in increasing my faith and blocking out fear. Of course repentance is an ongoing process but it is one that stems from humility-realizing that I need to change and that there is a better way through the Lord. When fear starts to show, it is a sign that I need to repent/change so that my faith can be strengthened and block out the fear. It is a choice to do this. I need to pray for the desire to always want to change for the better. "In faith we are free of fear. In faith, we are blessed with peace that comes in the form of confidence--confidences that as bad things happen, as problems arise, as confusion confronts us, as people hurt or disappoint us, and as people we love suffer, in the midst of all the storms of this life, all is well" It sounds like faith is what will get me through the hard things in life and that I will have peace and confidence that all will work out for the best. I look forward to a life with Lindsey who helps, promotes, strengthens, encourages the growing of my faith. I realize that I am not in this all alone. The Lord is there to enable me to grow my faith, and my future spouse is there to do the same and I for her. I love that assurance that with faith there will be a confidence that 'all is well'.
Friday 3/4
Matt 19:20 "...what lack I yet?" This young rich man asked this question. He was humble enough to ask but he didn't have faith enough to act on the counsel and advice that he had received. The love of possessions (what the world offers) led him to impede his progress. This is an important question to ask myself on occasion. What is keeping me from reaching my potential, from progressing? If I seek the Lord and keep his commandments, answers will come. Now the key is what do I do with this counsel once I receive it? Realize that this is feedback and will help me to progress and grow. I love how Lindsey helps me to recognize where I fall short and have greater desires to improve and do better. She really brings this out in me and I am so grateful to my God for her being in my life. This reminds me of the conference talk by Elder Martino "Turn to him and Answers will Come". Reread this talk
Mark 10:26 JST "...with men that trust in riches, it is impossible; but not impossible with men who trust in God and leave all for my sake, for with such all these things are possible." I don't think that riches are bad, rather they promote and selfish prideful character if not careful. The thing to remember is that all things are God's and it is important to keep looking to God in all things and to use what I have for the benefit of others in bringing them closer to him. The key is to be grateful for what I have and to seek to use what I have in the best way, a way that the Lord would be pleased with. How can I keep myself looking to the Lord?
Sunday 3/6
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf It Works Wonderfully
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