Commandments



Let Me guess what you are thinking right now . . .

 

"Commandments  are a tender mercy? Are you sure?"

 

Yes! I am! I love the commandments. What are they but the perfect advice given to each of us from our Perfect Father in Heaven! When you think about the commandments in a Parent/child relationship, the commandments make a lot of sense. 

 

When I was little, I was given 'commandments' from my Mom that would keep me safe, for example, don't play with knives. When I followed this advice, I was safe. When I didn't follow I, well, the cousin I gave the knife to, learned that even a butter knife can cut you.  God loves us and he doesn't want us to cut ourselves on the proverbial knife. That is why he has laid out different commandments to protect and bless us. He has given them to all and when we obey, we receive his promised blessings.

 

What blessings have you seen from following the commandments?

 

 

 

Elder Bednar on Tithing

Some of the Blessings we can receive from the commandment of Tithing Malachi 3:8-12

What does your mind look like?

"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; THY WALLS ARE CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME." Isaiah 49:16

    Once upon a time, when I was in High School, I had a friend who asked me this question, "If you went on a tour of your mind, what would it look like?" What felt right to me, as I thought about it was a maze. A maze decorated with memories. I didn't realize at the time what a profound and helpful question that would be for me throughout the past few years. The more I think about it, the more I understand things about myself and my personality that I didn't before.

  My mind is decorated with memories, pictures, flowers, mementos of happy times, but what about the bad times. Those are just as much a part of me as the good times. As much as I would like to hide those I realized that there are some bad memories in my mind. Hurt, pain, sorrow, temptation -- all are included in my life story and all leave cracks in the walls of my mind. As I was thinking about this, I had a short 30 second picture in my head of Christ as a master carpenter, painter, restorer, and all around repair man, standing in front of one of my walls. He was going through my maze fixing the cracks, healing the hurt, and making things better.

  I am not usually a very visual person, I think in words more than pictures, so this was pretty unusual. I was talking to somebody about it and used this as an example of how I see Christ and what his role is. She shared Isaiah 49:16 with me. This was such a tender mercy! To have my thought confirmed through the scriptures was such an amazing feeling! I know that my walls are continually before him and he is always there to fix and repair our walls of hurt, sin, and sadness. I also know he is there to help you, whatever your needs.


I thought this was a cool picture of a wall that could use some TLC :)
 

If YOU went on a tour of your mind, what would it look like? How does Christ work with you?

Why am I doing this?

If you asked most anybody I knew before my mission, they could tell you just how excited I was to serve. I knew that it was what God wanted me to do, but I didn't want to do it! I didn't understand the concept of Consecration, which is why I was probably assigned to speak about it for my farewell talk. Even trying to give a talk on it I didn't realize the difference between consecration and sacrifice. To sacrifice is to give up, to consecrate is to give to.

Even though I was not the most excited person to go on a mission, I am so grateful now for following the promptings I had to serve. I love it out here! I love meeting people and talking to them, learning about their lives. The best part is watching them come closer to Christ. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to give this time and energy TO Him. I love teaching people about how they can have peace in this life, and eternal life in the one to come! This video communicates a few of my feelings on why I am serving.

 

 

I know that I am doing what God wants me to be doing, and I couldn't be happier doing it!

 

 

 

. . . Of course, following God's plan for us will always make us the happiest. :)

 

Sister Richards

As missionaries we get moved around a lot. This week my companion, Sister Richards, is following God's call to share her talents with new people. I have loved getting to know her and I am grateful for all that I have learned from her. I am especially grateful for her kind heart. This video is one of the most amazing opportunities I had to share the 'Good News' in the past few months and I never would have thought to or been able to do it without her. Thank you Sister Richards!

 

 

 

 

Who has been a tender mercy in your life? Don't forget to thank them!