He Invites

Recently as we have been studying the fundamental We Invite, They Commit, We Follow Up I realized that I have always viewed this fundamental in a very limited way. I have always thought about this topic in terms of teaching investigators or missionaries, and trying to help them to make commitments. As I have thought about this fundamental in a personal way, it struck me that God works with us the same way. He invites us (and always has, and always will) to follow Him, and to make commitments and covenants that are for our ultimate well-being and happiness. He never compels us to do so, but He always follows up with us! One thing I want to do is further examine how this fundamental has worked in my life, and seek to apply those same principles to my own teaching.

"Thy mind, O Man...must stretch"

So I found this quote by Joseph Smith today  (Dean C. Jessee and John W. Welch, “Revelations in 
Context: Joseph Smith’s Letter from Liberty Jail, March 20, 1839,” BYU Studies 39, no. 3 
(2000): 137,):

The things of God 
are of deep import, and time and experience and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only 
find them out. Thy mind, O Man, if thou wilt lead a soul 
unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost Heavens, and search into and contemplate the 
lowest considerations of the darkest abyss, and expand upon the broad considerations of eternal 
expanse; he must commune with God. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God, 
than the vain imaginations of the human heart, none but fools will trifle with the souls of 
men.   

And then a few more from Preach My Gospel:
"Listening takes effort and concentration." (PMG pg . 186)
"Effective teaching can be hard work and requires concentration and effort..." (PMG pg. 184)

And then this one from A Guide for MTC Teachers:
"Missionaries should feel stretched, but not overwhelmed."

Learning the gospel makes us stretch and living the gospel makes us stretch, and sharing the gospel makes us stretch etc. etc. etc....and hopefully it stretches, as Joseph Smith indicates, "as high as the utmost Heavens."


That is all.

It's All Connected

Recently as we have been focusing on the Doctrine of Christ and the Role of the Holy Ghost in Conversion, it struck me how connected all of these fundamentals really are. Of course it is important to focus on individual fundamentals so that we can study them, deepen our understanding of them, and live them more fully. At the same time, the more I study the fundamentals, the harder it is to separate them from each other. For example, during the weeks when we focused on the Doctrine of Christ there were some very specific things that I received promptings to do. As we transitioned into the Role of the Holy Ghost in Conversion, the things that I have been working on haven't really changed. However, I have seen them in a different light, from a different perspective. It is amazing how all of the fundamentals are related. Each one points us towards Christ, and they are all essential for conversion.

Voices

Potentially creepy title... we all hear voices though. Elder Faust explains that Satan will use distracting voices to pull us away from the voice of the spirit. These can cone from tv, ads, magazines, friends, or music (pretty much anything with a message). Recently I've tried to remove distracting voices from my life and bring more appropriate voices that can be followed by the Spirit.

It's amazing how different life has been. My attitude is different. My ideas are different. My view of people is different. I feel like I have more faith and more peace. I hadn't realized how much competition there is for airtime in my mind. The spirit can only be prevelant if I take away the other voices.