During the Sunday School lesson today our instructor showed us this recording of some advice given by Elder Busche. It has quickly become one of my favorite. I feel like I have faced so many trials and hard things in this past year and a half. This video really comforted me...Elder Busche's words were exactly what I needed to hear. Just thought to share.
Monday, August 19, 2013
A Video of Note
During the Sunday School lesson today our instructor showed us this recording of some advice given by Elder Busche. It has quickly become one of my favorite. I feel like I have faced so many trials and hard things in this past year and a half. This video really comforted me...Elder Busche's words were exactly what I needed to hear. Just thought to share.
Monday, August 12, 2013
The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox
This session of my Summer semester has been pretty slow...my classes are easy enough, and I decided getting a job for 4 weeks then quitting again just to be a Resident Adviser for the the Fall (I hope) would be fruitless. Especially since most jobs are minimum wage here and I wouldnt earn very much anyway. So, with my time I have been studying a LOT of gospel doctrine books by various authors. I cant express enough how glad I am to have the time to dive into these books! I am learning by leaps and bounds :) Something I read recently in The Continuous Atonement was about how Christ's requirements are not so that we can make the best of the Atonement, but rather that the Atonement can make the best of us. Brother Wilcox shares this insight ( the I LOVE and wanted to share too :) )
I love this excerpt from the book because when I have made mistakes or have sinned, I have often found myself feeling like this girl. Like I would never be good enough, perfect enough. There is so much I have learned in my studying of this book and others. It really is helping me understand the role and character of the Savior, the plan of salvation, how the relate the Atonement into my life, the purpose of weaknesses and why sinning was ever made possible, the difference between Savior and Redeemer, the concept of perfection we are trying to achieve, how Satan uses pure truths and twists them to make us loathe ourselves in our imperfections...the list goes on and on and on. All I have to say is the gospel is TRUE! Every step closer to the Savior, the more effort I make to understand and live His gospel, that light of understanding grows brighter and brighter just like the scriptures promise. Man I am so blessed to have such resources and opportunities that the gospel gives me literally at my fingertips!
"I once spoke with a college student who sought a better understanding of the Atonement. "I know," she said, "I have to do my part and then Christ does the rest, but the problem is that I cant even do my part." She then went on to list the many things she should be doing, but wasn't. She also spoke of the anger and jealousy she shouldn't be feeling, but was. Continuing, she said, "I know Christ can fill the gap between my best efforts and perfection, but who fills the gap between the way I am and my best efforts?"
I pulled out a paper and drew two dots on it - one at the bottom and the other at the top. "Here is God," I said, labeling the top dot. "And here we are," I said, indicating the bottom dot. "How much of this distance does Jesus fill and how much is our part?" She started to mark a line at the halfway point and then thought better and marked the line much lower. I said, "Wrong."
"Is the line higher?" she asked.
"No," I responded. " The truth is, there is no line. Christ has already filled the whole distance."
"Right! Like I don't have to do anything?"
"Oh no. You have plenty to do, but it is not to fill this gap. Jesus filled the gap that stands between us and God. it is done. We are all going to go back to God's presence. Now the question is how long we hope to stay there. This is what is determined by our obedience to Jesus."
Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying we are not paying the demands of justice - not even the smallest part. Instead we are appreciating what Jesus did and using it to live the life of a disciple and follow a pattern set by Christ himself - what Joseph Smith called "The life of the righteous". Justice requires perfection or a punishment when perfection is not achieved. Jesus, who paid justice (2 Nephi 2:7), can now forgive what justice never could. By releasing us from the requirements of justice, He is now able to make a whole new arrangement with us (see 3 Nephi 28:35).
"So what's the difference?" the girl asked. "Whether our efforts are required by justice or by Jesus, they are still required."
"True, but they are required for different purposes, and that makes all the difference. Fulfilling Christ's requirements is like paying a mortgage instead of rent, investing instead of paying off debts, really getting someplace instead of walking on a treadmill, ultimate perfection instead of forever coming up short."
"But I already told you, I cant be perfect..."
"You don't have to be, because justice is no longer in charge. Jesus is, and He only asks that you are willing to be perfected."(The Continuous Atonement; Brad Wilcox 116-118)
I love this excerpt from the book because when I have made mistakes or have sinned, I have often found myself feeling like this girl. Like I would never be good enough, perfect enough. There is so much I have learned in my studying of this book and others. It really is helping me understand the role and character of the Savior, the plan of salvation, how the relate the Atonement into my life, the purpose of weaknesses and why sinning was ever made possible, the difference between Savior and Redeemer, the concept of perfection we are trying to achieve, how Satan uses pure truths and twists them to make us loathe ourselves in our imperfections...the list goes on and on and on. All I have to say is the gospel is TRUE! Every step closer to the Savior, the more effort I make to understand and live His gospel, that light of understanding grows brighter and brighter just like the scriptures promise. Man I am so blessed to have such resources and opportunities that the gospel gives me literally at my fingertips!
Monday, August 5, 2013
KoKo Head Hike
So lemme start out by saying that there is a REASON these railroad tracks were abandoned! It took so much energy to get up this hill, we mustve stopped at least 10 times just to give our legs a chance to stop shaking haha. Very hardcore hike...but in the end the pain was all worth it. The sunset was beautiful and the star-view from the top was indescribably beautiful. Enough that my friend Bethani and I began to sing hymns...thats the feeling magnificence gives me. On the way over the KoKo head we also stopped by this place called "The spitting caves". Basically the waves come in and rush into this cave off the coast and shoot back out into the ocean because it has nowhere to go. The spray was so high it made rainbows across the ocean, but I couldnt get a good shot at it. Tavin, the guy who let us use his truck on the venture, jumped in! And then another girl that was with us jumped...almost died because she hesitated while jumping and TOTALLY freaked us all out. Yeah, thats why I dont jump off of 45 foot cliffs. Ill try to post the videos later...The whole day was awesome all the way around. Im so glad I was able to go with the group of people that I did. It was absolutely PERFECT!!!
Friday, August 2, 2013
A very long post :) But stuffed to the brim with goodness!
I was able to go to the La'ie Temple today with my ward family to do baptisms. A member of the Temple Presidency came into the chapel while we were waiting and spoke to us for a few minutes...It is times like these that I am sincerely grateful that I am able to attend the temple. He spoke a lot about being worthy to enter, and that those who were worthy would receive spiritual nourishment and revelation. He also emphasized that going to the Temple will not solve all of your problems. Just because you attend all the time or do a ton of work does not mean that your problems are going to disappear or that you will have none. However, it is by being worthy to enter the temple, striving to be close to the Spirit and actively "knocking" that we are able to receive comfort, insight, peace, an extra measure of strength, understanding and so much more that will help US solve the very problems we struggle with. But in the end, it must be us that does the deed. It is important to recognize often that the Temple is a place of learning, and just like school, it is what you do with the knowledge that makes it valuable.
Something he said towards the end of his testimony made me feel as if the words were mean specifically for me. He mentioned an experience he had had being a first counselor in a bishopric a long time ago. After counseling with different members of the ward, the bishop would state that he just didn't understand why people would choose commit sin or would falter in the process of repentance. He really was exasperated and could think of no explanation. Finally, the day came when this young first counselor spoke up after one of these not terribly uncommon "vents" the bishop would do. He said something along the lines of: "...No Bishop...and you will never understand unless you have sinned and needed to go through your own long process of repentance. People who have made serious mistakes in their life that have required a rigorous repentance process have an extremely unique and Christlike way of relating to eachother's circumstances." He went on to explain to the Bishop that he did not mean that in order to have compassion on these people he had to sin and make bad choices, but certainly that those people who have sinned, who have made bad choices and then turned their life around, have a certain compassion for their brothers and sisters in the same situation that is found no where else. When he said this I thought of how the Savior descended below it all, sins/weaknesses/sickness/pain/disappointment - every bad thing not only sin- so that he could succor his people and understand them. By understanding the harshness of every bad situation and the sweat it takes to pull yourself out of it, He is able to have compassion on us - perfectly.
Its so wonderful to me that I am beginning to understand the role my weaknesses have played in my life and how to use them to propel me closer to my Heavenly Father rather then farther away (with self hate because I am weak). We were given weakness that we would be humble, and so that the Savior could transform them into strengths. That process is painful, but in the end will become sacred to us as we realize that the lessons we learn from those purifying trials have helped us become more perfect in the best way - A book I read recently said it perfectly:
"We know from the fourth article of faith that the first principles of the gospel are faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repentance. Self-forgiveness requires both. Changing our heart and behavior - repentance- is only one step toward self-forgiveness. Overcoming our doubts about God's will and power to save us "unworthy creatures" (Mosiah 4:11) - faith in Christ - is the other.
This plan was laid out in the beginning by our Heavenly Father. It gives us access to the rich but dangerous experiences of mortality with full assurance that we can still return to God. This plan required a perfect Redeemer to live a sinless life and then experience through the Atonement all the consequences of sin and mortality that we undergo here. In this way He could be our perfect Judge. He fully understands all our grievances against one another. He also understands the private pains out of which we injure one another. He fully empathizes with ever one of us. In His omnipotence He is uniquely able to pay all our debts to one another, in part because there are no liens against Him.
Satan had, and still has, a different plan- one that requires each of us to be flawless so that no one would suffer at the hands of another. No one would have to feel pain or regret for sin because there would be no sinning. We would all be perfect in the sense of committing no wrongs. But in this plan we cold never be perfect in the sense of being whole, complete, and like our Father -who is perfect because He fully understands all the options, none of which are closed to Him, and yet chooses good.
There would have been no real need for a Savior in this plan, but Satan wanted the credit for coming up this alternative plan. He wanted to be the Only Begotten, the beloved and sinless Firstborn. Sometimes we also long for that chosen status out of fear that we cannont really be loved by God unless we too are flawless.
In contrast, the Savior humble offers to share with us all that He has. He acknowledges that we too have a difficult path to walk in mortality. He did His job so we could do ours. Because I struggle not to resent what others cost me or take comfort in my supposed superiority, I struggle to imagine a Christ who is neither resentful about what I have cost Him nor proud of His superiority. This plan requires humility from all who desire its full benefits."
- (Wendy Ulrich, PH.D. "Forgiving Ourselves")
I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. He lives, not just in sacred books or in the minds and hearts of His disciples, but as an physical being. I know that His Atonement will work miracles in every heart that will let him. Our battle isn't really with other people or even with the wickedness of world as a whole. Our battle is with ourselves. I know the Savior knows each of us better then we could ever comprehend in this lifetime, our potential/weaknesses/fears/dreams... and if we would just believe him - trust him like we profess we do to know what is best - take that leap of faith and turn our will over to him..I believe that in return we will be endowed with every good blessing our kind and loving Father in Heaven ever in his heart has wanted to bestow upon us. The gospel is true :)
Mountains To Climb
-Jess
Something he said towards the end of his testimony made me feel as if the words were mean specifically for me. He mentioned an experience he had had being a first counselor in a bishopric a long time ago. After counseling with different members of the ward, the bishop would state that he just didn't understand why people would choose commit sin or would falter in the process of repentance. He really was exasperated and could think of no explanation. Finally, the day came when this young first counselor spoke up after one of these not terribly uncommon "vents" the bishop would do. He said something along the lines of: "...No Bishop...and you will never understand unless you have sinned and needed to go through your own long process of repentance. People who have made serious mistakes in their life that have required a rigorous repentance process have an extremely unique and Christlike way of relating to eachother's circumstances." He went on to explain to the Bishop that he did not mean that in order to have compassion on these people he had to sin and make bad choices, but certainly that those people who have sinned, who have made bad choices and then turned their life around, have a certain compassion for their brothers and sisters in the same situation that is found no where else. When he said this I thought of how the Savior descended below it all, sins/weaknesses/sickness/pain/disappointment - every bad thing not only sin- so that he could succor his people and understand them. By understanding the harshness of every bad situation and the sweat it takes to pull yourself out of it, He is able to have compassion on us - perfectly.
Its so wonderful to me that I am beginning to understand the role my weaknesses have played in my life and how to use them to propel me closer to my Heavenly Father rather then farther away (with self hate because I am weak). We were given weakness that we would be humble, and so that the Savior could transform them into strengths. That process is painful, but in the end will become sacred to us as we realize that the lessons we learn from those purifying trials have helped us become more perfect in the best way - A book I read recently said it perfectly:
"We know from the fourth article of faith that the first principles of the gospel are faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repentance. Self-forgiveness requires both. Changing our heart and behavior - repentance- is only one step toward self-forgiveness. Overcoming our doubts about God's will and power to save us "unworthy creatures" (Mosiah 4:11) - faith in Christ - is the other.
This plan was laid out in the beginning by our Heavenly Father. It gives us access to the rich but dangerous experiences of mortality with full assurance that we can still return to God. This plan required a perfect Redeemer to live a sinless life and then experience through the Atonement all the consequences of sin and mortality that we undergo here. In this way He could be our perfect Judge. He fully understands all our grievances against one another. He also understands the private pains out of which we injure one another. He fully empathizes with ever one of us. In His omnipotence He is uniquely able to pay all our debts to one another, in part because there are no liens against Him.
Satan had, and still has, a different plan- one that requires each of us to be flawless so that no one would suffer at the hands of another. No one would have to feel pain or regret for sin because there would be no sinning. We would all be perfect in the sense of committing no wrongs. But in this plan we cold never be perfect in the sense of being whole, complete, and like our Father -who is perfect because He fully understands all the options, none of which are closed to Him, and yet chooses good.
There would have been no real need for a Savior in this plan, but Satan wanted the credit for coming up this alternative plan. He wanted to be the Only Begotten, the beloved and sinless Firstborn. Sometimes we also long for that chosen status out of fear that we cannont really be loved by God unless we too are flawless.
In contrast, the Savior humble offers to share with us all that He has. He acknowledges that we too have a difficult path to walk in mortality. He did His job so we could do ours. Because I struggle not to resent what others cost me or take comfort in my supposed superiority, I struggle to imagine a Christ who is neither resentful about what I have cost Him nor proud of His superiority. This plan requires humility from all who desire its full benefits."
- (Wendy Ulrich, PH.D. "Forgiving Ourselves")
I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. He lives, not just in sacred books or in the minds and hearts of His disciples, but as an physical being. I know that His Atonement will work miracles in every heart that will let him. Our battle isn't really with other people or even with the wickedness of world as a whole. Our battle is with ourselves. I know the Savior knows each of us better then we could ever comprehend in this lifetime, our potential/weaknesses/fears/dreams... and if we would just believe him - trust him like we profess we do to know what is best - take that leap of faith and turn our will over to him..I believe that in return we will be endowed with every good blessing our kind and loving Father in Heaven ever in his heart has wanted to bestow upon us. The gospel is true :)
Mountains To Climb
-Jess
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
The La'ie Hawaii Temple!!!
The La'ie Temple
I made it a point this last Friday to get a few people together and go to the temple to do baptisms. I have recently been figuring out how to work the new "familysearch" genealogy system and found a few ancestors who had never had the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and be baptized. For those who dont understand much about these sacred beautiful places or the things that go on inside them, here are some videos which put into words perfectly what they are about : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLXYxmaHWQs
In the temple, those who have met certain requirements are deemed worthy to be baptized proxy for others who went before us, our "dead". We believe that missionary work is being busily performed in the spirit world and the sacred ordinances we perform in these temples can be accepted by those spirits who have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ on the other side, thus enabling them to continue progressing toward our Heavenly Father even while in the spirit world (to say it briefly).
Although I didnt get to go in (I forgot my recommend ), the baptisms were still able to be done by one of my friends who was prepared to go inside. In the mean time I wandered around enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning, taking pictures of everything. I LOVE the serenity that exists on the grounds of the temples! I get my official endowment this December (so stoked!) and will be able to do more then just baptisms for the dead. I can hardly wait!!!
I really want to get more familiar with my genealogy in these next few months, be a pro by the time I have my endowment this December. So far I have even found out that I am directly related to the king of Spain way back in 1100 AD! Plus his family before him was the royalty of Portugal, and thats just one line! Amazing...In my mom's line we have found out that we are from the royal family in England (I think its England...) We even have a family crest still in the castle. I am so excited to learn about/from the lives of these people, and even more excited their stories will be easier to access since they are probably more sought after (being royalty and all). I think I have been caught, hook-line-and sinker with this whole genealogy thing. Its not only for old people folks ;) I have barely started and I already love it!
-Jess
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