Mormon Budget

There is no such thing as darkness. Darkness is not a tangible thing you can touch, create, manipulate or otherwise perceive. There is only the absence of light, which we call darkness. Similarly, there is no such thing as emptiness… only lack of substance.

We can attempt to fill the void with false hope, temporary satisfaction or instant gratification, but, it will leave the soul after a short time, hungering again, desiring something that will last. The spark of light from a match will quickly burn out.

If we feel empty or dark, we simply need to fill our lives with the Light of Truth. Light dispels darkness… Does it take a while for darkness to disappear when light it present? No. Darkness isn’t a thing that needs to be moved out of the way, its just a word to describe the absence of light. Once light is present, darkness is no longer present – instantly.

In our minds, when we describe ourselves as having dark thoughts its really just a lack of Truth. The Light of Truth can rid our minds of darkness instantly. And what is the Light of Truth? Intelligence. (D&C 93:36). The scriptures tell us that the “… wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth through disobedience” (D&C 93:39). Thus disobedience, or sin, diminished our light and truth, or in other words, reduces our access to infinite intelligence.

Satan’s goal is not to bring darkness, but rather to take away the light, or more specifically, to take us away from the light by causing us to be disobedient. However, we also read that “Light and truth forsake that evil one” (D&C 93:37). Or in other words, intelligence separates one from Satan. When Moses beheld the Saviour, and then was confronted by Satan, he said “where is the glory, for it is darkness unto me” (Moses 1:15) Or in other words, he did not have nearly the light or lustre that Christ has.

As we go though life we, at times, experience what feels like tangible darkness. But always it is simply a lack of light.

For example, imagine a beautiful blue sky, with some scattered fluffy white clouds. The sun shines bright. Think clearly about the colors, the pureness of the blue sky, the billowing white clouds, as though they where pure white snow or soft clean cotton balls.
Now imagine the sunset and the onset of night on that scene. Darkness falls over the world and now at midnight, what color is the sky? Now, what color are those clouds?
In fact, the sky is still blue, and the clouds are still white – they are as fluffy and pure as they were during the day, you just can’t see it, because the light of the sun is not shining on them for you to see clearly.
Sin is like voluntarily having the color taken from life, by turning from the light – inviting darkness to cover the beauty of Gods creations – the beauty of your soul, the clarity of your mind and spirit. But your mind, soul and spirit have not changed color. They are only clouded by darkness, a darkness which can be dispelled with an invitation of light.

When darkness is descending on me, can I see the light in that darkness? Can I believe deep enough to realize that in any time, in any place, God’s love can reach me, if I reach for it? How can I choose it when the darkness seems to overwhelm me – when my body strains to enter the darkness and my spirit takes a backseat.

The light of Christ, through repentance, is ever willing to shine upon you to restore you to your full beauty. The gospel of Christ is that He has overcome our sin, paid the price and made it possible for us to return to Him. His light is contingent on our asking for it, in submitting our will to Him – the only true gift we can offer to God. Under your individual clouds of darkness, you are beautiful, and pure and clean. Christ invites us to come unto him by repenting of our sins, and by doing so His light will shine upon us, our darkness will disappear and we will be restored to full color, to our full beauty.

Never come to believe that you are inherently ugly or dark. We only ever lack the light of the Lord to dispel any darkness on our soul.

Too many of us live our lives in the twilight… Where the sun is just below the horizon; we still see the light, but there are many shadows and not everything is seen as it really it.
As we open the door to redemption, we can look up at the blackened sky and exclaim as the lyricist:

night descends
could I have been a better person?
if I could only do it all again
and the sky is filled with light
can you see it?
all the black is really white
if you believe it
as the time is running out
let me take away your doubt
we can find a better a place
in this twilight

Come forth from the twilight of your life and invite the Light of Christ into your heart. Let His light shine forth upon you and live your life lit by the noon day glory of Jesus Christ.
I invite the light of the Lord to shine upon me. May I recognize, even in my own personal darkness, that any blackness I see is really white if I but choose to move into the light. May the light of the Lord ever shine upon us all, and may we ever choose to make that happen.

Perhaps some of you don’t know this very interesting fact about me, but… there is something I am very skilled at – even more than with computers. I am an expert – at sinning.

Now, I can see by looking over the congregation that most of the perfect people have stayed home this week, so that means I can speak plainly to you who may share my skills at sinning.

I do it every day and have for most of my life. With such frequent practice at something, I’m sure you’d agree that I’ve become very good at it. I know how to hide it, disguise it, how to act like I don’t sin, and I’ve learned how to cope with the guilt that sin brings into my life.

The real dilemma I have is that… although I sin so often and although I’m so very good at it, I don’t WANT to be good at it, in fact, the opposite its true, I ACTIVELY want to NOT sin. I have my personal favorite sins, as I know you do also – and I’m not about to declare them to you… but I do want to discuss is — why is it that…. If we want to NOT sin, WHY do we continue to do it.

I mean, I’m mature person right? …and smart enough. If I make my mind up about something that I have control over, like my own behavior… why is it that I just CAN’T seem to do it (or STOP doing it, as the case may be)? This is the age old question… “How can I change myself?” How can I truly change? I do feel deep sorrow when I consider my imperfections and commit to change my ways to be more perfect, but somehow I am not perfect… somehow., I continue to sin.

To illustrate the problem better, let me describe a scenario from my past work experience.

I used to be a tech lead over a team of about 6 people – and we were often called on to debug a problem…. to find out why some complicated computer software was not doing what it was supposed to do. Several of my team members were from India and although we could communicate fine, I often found that their problem determination skills only treated symptoms of a problem instead of finding the root cause.

To put that in perspective it’s as if a patient with a virus who had a high fever went to see a doctor, and the doctor did a cursory overview and suggested the patient get air conditioning to treat the fever instead of diagnosing what was causing the fever and seeking to fix the real problem. There could be many different things causing the fever – but a good doctor knows how to narrow the potential causes down and prescribe treatment to cure the problem, not simply treat the fever and let the virus fester and multiply. I was constantly training my team at work to dig deeper – past the symptoms – and not be satisfied until they knew exactly what was causing a system problem and could figure out how to fix it. Some improved, others never quite “got it” and did not progress well in the team.

You see, I am convinced that we here – since we know of the goodness of God and the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us – that we are all on a quest to overcome sin . But, my personal experience and my experiences in Priesthood leadership have often demonstrated that we often attempt to overcome sin by treating the symptoms, instead of addressing the root cause.

How is that you may ask? Well – who among us hasn’t tried to change themselves by changing their appearance. Maybe if my hair was blonder or darker I’d be more perfect. Maybe if I just move and get out of this environment I’ll change. Maybe if my clothes were different, or if I had more money or if I were married, or single or whatever other external thing –… if only I can change that I’d stop sinning. The problem with that is… at least in my experience… its only treating the symptom. It may produce temporary change – you may be able to overcome sin for a while… but in the end, the root cause will surface again, perhaps with the same but stronger symptoms, perhaps with different symptoms… yet the virus in our soul is still there.

Forcing change like that is like fighting against a really strong habit. You can use your conscious mind to and your will to overcome anything for a while, but eventually you will become exhausted and return to your default state—back to the habit. It reminds me of the scripture from 2 Nephi 27:3, “And all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision; yea, it shall be unto them, even as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite; yea, even so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.”

When we force a change by working on the symptoms or external circumstances, eventually our mind will wake up from the self-deception and our desire to overcome sin will be thwarted.

The change needed – the real treatment needs to be on the inside – in our thoughts and hearts.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said once said,  “Of what use to make heroic vows of amendment if the same old lawbreaker is to keep them?”  How many times have you said, “I’m going to change that – I’m never going to do that again.”  But you never change the inside – your self-image – your heart.  It’s the mind and heart that’s the lawbreaker, and that’s what we want to change.

To think of it another way… imagine our lives are like a movie… Our behavior – what we do, is the movie screen – but it’s just the projection. To change the movie, we don’t try to change the screen, or play the movie in a different location, or wear different clothes while playing the movie -– we go to the DVD player and change the DVD. In our lives, to change our behavior we can’t just force ourselves to act differently, we need to change the source, the way we think – our subconscious – our spirit.

Before we attempt to seriously change… we need to take a careful look at where we are. We need to be honest with ourselves and admit that we are the source of our problems. In life there are always those who look to blame anything but themselves for their circumstances… the weather, their neighbors, parents, the economy, the devil or even God. But the reality is… God allows us to choose for ourselves and the blame for our circumstances lies with ourselves.

To give an extreme example, consider this… if someone jumped off a building we wouldn’t say that the law of gravity murdered them… we’d say that they chose to ignore the law of gravity and plummeted to their death of their own choice. But so many of us are prevented from changing our ways by blaming external circumstances or people or events for our problems… we create a scenario in our minds where we are powerless to change our environment and therefore cannot change ourselves, but this is a lie we tell ourselves. This can be hard to hear sometimes, especially if our situation is unpleasant.  Even if it’s not the case that your choices have brought about your current situation, taking responsibility for it empowers you to make the changes in your life to get out of your problems.  If you are under the burden of guilt from sin… stuck… taking responsibility will empower you to make the changes necessary for growth and progress.

Once we take full responsibility for our own situation, we are ready for change. Again, what we need to change is on the inside… our heart and mind — but how exactly do we do that?

The scriptures tell us the following:

Proverbs 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

Psalms 40:8  I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

When I was a newly called Bishop, I needed to give counsel to someone who wanted to change their heart but didn’t know how. Before I gave that advice I happened to be in a Priesthood class and asked the following question of the group, “What would you say to someone who is wanting to do the right thing, but who’s heart is not in it yet.” President Senter gave a beautiful answer. He said “I’d say that’s a good start.” He went to explain that doing the right things, even out of duty with no emotion is still better than not doing the right thing at all. The right internal motivation will come with time. Eventually, through service to others and prayer, God will soften a person’s heart and they will experience the change of heart that is referred to in the scriptures. That advice has stuck with me since – I’d like that counsel to describe me, where my heart is softened and I experience that change of heart.

Rather than my practiced sinning, here’s what I want to be like.

Mosiah 5:2  And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.

So, we know that the Spirit of the Lord is the agent of change… true change in our heart.

I love this scripture from Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 36:25 – 27 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

It comforts me to know that the Lord can make me a new heart… one that is not only pure and clean – which I know I get from baptism and partaking of the sacrament each week, but a heart that will purge my evil nature and make me want to do good continually. And perhaps I need to seek the Lord to do this continually because even a new heart is prone to wander back to forbidden paths if left unchecked. That is what the good news of the gospel and the power of the Lord’s Atonement can do in my life. This is why constant nourishment from the good word of the Lord is so important… My new heart needs nourishment so it can remain strong enough to overpower the natural man.

Does having a new heart and a new spirit mean I won’t be tempted any more… oh no. Temptation will always be there – especially since the adversary knows my personal weaknesses… he’ll keep hammering away at it, patiently waiting for it to break. He has all the time in the world. Even with a new heart, we need to wear the armor of God to protect our new heart… and what is the amour that protects our heart? The Breastplate of Righteousness. God has equipped us with all things necessary for our salvation – all we have to do is chose the right. We can take comfort in knowing that god won’t give us any challenge we cannot overcome.

 Paul said it this way: (1 Cor 10:13)  “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

I also like how Mother Teresa put it:

I know God will not give me anything that I can’t handle.
I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.
~Mother Teresa

One of my favorite hymns is “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”, which more than a great hymn is a beautiful poem from a desperate soul yearning for the Lord to help in changing his heart.

 

1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

This song was dissected line by line by the choice director of the Missionary Training Center as he taught us to sing from the heart. Now every time I hear or sing this hymn, I remember that I too want to heart to be bound like a fetter to the Lord. Heaven knows that my heart is prone to wander, but I too would have the Lord seal it for His courts above.

I’ve come to learn that “change is not easy”… and I don’t mean to say that as a cliché, I REALLY mean it – “CHANGE IS NOT EASY”… it’s really hard. I know this from experience from constantly trying to change myself.

Another issue to consider that can sometimes stop us from taking the steps we need to overcome sin and change depression stems from the obvious fact that everyone else at church seems to getting along very well and progressing towards perfect excellently… Some people come across as having it all together… But really it’s a facade–we all struggle with the same issues trying to be people we want to be– trying to change our carnal nature.

Consider someone you think is really righteous. We all know someone in the church who is really smart or who is an excellent speaker, or just seems super spiritual – at least on Sundays. I know who I think of when I think of that type of person.  This person may appear über-knowledgeable and experienced because of their knowledge or ability to speak… But in their mind and private life they are struggling the same as you and I. No one has it all together.. We all struggle with feelings of unworthiness and wonder if we’re on the right path enough to merit the eternal reward we want. It’s not easy overcoming that persistent natural man.

Now, I’ve used the word change a lot in this talk, but we all know the gospel word for this is “repent”. We all need to do it – and not just treat the symptoms. Treat the root cause. Again. it’s not easy, but the reward is a clear conscience and knowing that your life is in harmony with God’s plan – and that my friends is a SWEET deal. If you need help or have some serious sins to recover from – make an appointment with our good Bishop. He’s one of the best men I know and God has put him in place at this time in your life to help you get where you need to be. He will love you and help you.

I’ll conclude with a modification of a well known saying that applies to us.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it’s me.” – Author Unknown

May God grant us the ability to change – may he make for us a new heart and a new spirit that we may have desires to do good continually is my prayer, the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Let me start by saying that there are many people who would have us shaken from our faith. There are those who don’t understand why we believe and fight against what they don’t undestand. There are those who do understand us and fight even harder to destroy us. Let me just say that the adversary is very real and would shake us from any faith in God, and all the more so when faith is founded on true principles. During my conversion I read nearly all of the anti-Mormon material that was available and found it all to be rubbish.

I had a conversion that – to me – really anchored me in my faith. It’s not a really exciting story and doesn’t sound interesting unless you lived it as I have…  So, I thought rather than tell my conversion story, it might be more interesting to talk about why I continue to believe – on a week to week, day to day basis. Why do I have a faith that drives me to action and causes me to live my life in a way that many would consider constrained?

One of the ways I like to set up a persuasive argument is to first set the stage for the opposing view and then explain why that reasoning is faulty. I figured we could try that in my brief remarks. Let me set the stage for one reason why I might not be compelled to believe, in fact, why it’s so inconvenient to believe and then I’ll talk about why I bother exert the time and effort to continually overcome these real concerns.

As some of you know I am an employee turned entrepreneur. I am trying to get 3 businesses off the ground which keeps me more than fully occupied. To put it lightly, time is a premium resource for me – as in there isn’t enough of it. Until these businesses are actually making money, anything that takes time from this work makes me feel like I am not providing for my family. For this reason, I tend to be very selfish and guarded with my time.

As we all know being a member of this church is not without its time commitments. Many of you will remember that I served as Bishop for 5 years before our current Bishop. That is a HUGE time commitment. After that I was working with the youth, which while it’s a very rewarding responsibility, the time commitments were also quite large. I was recently called to a responsibility that doesn’t take up too much of my time, however, at the same time, Robin was been called to a responsibility that takes even more time than my previous calling used to take, which results in me having less time for work than I used to – since time when she is gone with her responsibilities I am alone in charge of our 5 girls – and you can imagine how I don’t end up getting much work done when that happens

Add that to the time it takes to do Home Teaching, attend Relief Society meetings, Priesthood meeting, trainings, activity girls, primary activities, lesson prep, scripture study, and never working on Sundays…. that’s a LOT of time required for active membership in the church. That’s a lot of time that my competitors are working on building their businesses and I cannot.

Yet, week after week, I never work on Sundays, I attend these meetings, try to magnify my calling and support Robin in her calling. Why? I often ask myself this very question

The answer is  – it’s a matter of perspective  and priority.

My faith gives me many unique perspectives different from the average person. Even different from other Christians, but hopefully common amongst members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I’ll review just 3 of them that immediately came to mind.

PERSPECTIVE #1) I know that God has a plan for all of us. As part of that plan I know I am here on Earth to go through some trials and to prove to myself whether or not I merit a greater reward. This perspective helps me know that true success is not found in the accumulation of wealth, the creation of amazing products, or in anything I can create with my hands or skill. True success is achieved by living my life in a way that is in harmony with Gods Laws and His plan for me. Having an eye single to the glory of WORK is not going to get me where I truly want to go. I need an eye single to the glory of God. This knowledge comes with it specific responsibilities, such as living how I know I should and teaching my family these things. It should also be telling others about this truth that I know. I invited about 30 people to attend tonight. As we can see by looking around, not everyone is looking for truth…

PERSPECTIVE 2) I know that my relationship with my wife and family is an eternal one. Unlike others who may feel like relationships exist only to satisfy personal gratification and when things get a little rough, you can just move on to the next temporary gratification, I know that these relationships are to be nurtured, constantly cared for and worthy of sacrifice. These relationships will last for eternity and decisions I make day to day will affect that relationship. It’s one that I cannot and will not simply cancel. I know that rough times are part of my test and enduring them well while helping my family endure well will be a blessing to me for all time. When difficulties arise in a relationship, never is divorce, separation or other such things even an option. This perspective makes me work on solutions to problems, makes me work on effective communication and conflict resolution rather than fighting and dreaming of freedom from a hard problem. In fact, because of this perspective, I rarely have any disputations at all. A little perspective goes a long way.

PERSPECTIVE 3) I know that God is not dead, but lives, and is a continual source of inspiration and direction for me – so long as I live my life in a way that allows me to tap into that communication.

A recent example that demonstrates a process that has happened over and over again for me.

Recently, we sold our home to fund further development and nurturing of our business endeavors. This was a HUGE decision for us, one that would affect our entire families future and needless to say we were very anxious about it. After considering the options and coming to what we felt was the right decision, we held a family council, explaining to the kids what we were thinking. This meant a school change for them and moving to a new neighborhood, so their feedback and support was essential. They all agreed with us. Together we had a prayer to help us know if this decision would be right for us and then we went on our way. Not 30 seconds later, I had a wash of peaceful calm wash over me, which I know was an answer from God indicating that we had come to a good decision. Then we moved forward without reservation. This self-same experience has happened at every major decision point in my adult life. God truly does direct us if we let Him. Inspiration from God is very real and I both appreciate and depend on  it to help me make good choices. I know that God has not put me here to fail, but to succeed and He wants me to be successful and guides me to that end. This perspective makes me want to live my life in such a way as to qualify for this guidance. To qualify for this guidance I follow His plan and keep his commandments.

These 3 perspectives, along with others we don’t have time to discuss, change the priorities I have in life.

When I have urges to work instead of do those things I should be doing, I remember the famous saying that “No success can compensate for failure in the home.” Or, put another way… At your funeral no one is going to comment on how you were at work every day and did such quality work. Our legacy is how we live. These perspectives help me properly prioritize my life.

I continue to believe because I know that these perspectives are true and correct – and I allow these perspectives to guide my priorities. Over the past 3-4 years, I’ve spent a lot of time studying self-development material – all of which completely agrees with the tenets of the gospel of Jesus Christ which I know and love. It is amazing to me that so much self-development material takes pieces of what Jesus taught and focuses on small parts of it. I love what President Hinckley once said when being interviewed – In the church we welcome all truth and say to all – bring your truth to us and let’s see if we can add to it.

Many people get socially converted to the gospel before a spiritual one. I personally do not have a high need for social interaction, however, the examples of the many faithful people around me inspire me to do more, to be better… and I know that my family is continually blessed by all of you.

For these reasons and a compelling inner sense of right and direction, I continue to believe.

But behold, I have obtained a land of promise, in the which things I do rejoice; yea, and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban, and bring them down again unto us in the wilderness. (1 Nephi 5:5)

Here – Lehi is responding to complaints from his wife Sariah who was obviously worried that her sons had perished on their journey back to Jerusalem. It probably took weeks. I love Lehi’s faith language here. He says “I have obtained a land of promise.” Now, they are in the wilderness… that was definitely not the land of promise. But, he knew the Lord’s word was good and so in his mind, he had already obtained it by his obedience and his obvious commitment to continued obedience.

We should also speak thusly about our goals… as if we have already obtained them – its just a matter of time, obedience and action to achieve them.

This warning from a Batman costume is very telling.

Caution: Cape Does Not Enable User To Fly

One cannot simple put on church clothes and expect to be able to perform Priesthood duties with no other thought. It is not a white shirt and a tie that makes a Priesthood holder… it is personal worthiness, sacrifice and service.

I see it so often, even in my own life, where I put on the costume and act the role without giving real thought to the fact that I am acting as a representative of Jesus Christ. We don’t become the powerful priesthood holder by the way we dress or “act”, its through our actions, through choices we make when no one is looking, by consistent obedience and service. For my part, its time to up my game some; tighten up the loose ends in my life and make adjustments here and there to make sure I’m on the right path—and am not simply putting on the costume and acting the part, but being the part.

[Commence introspection here]

This is guaranteed to be a fun activity for a family with children under 10.

I just did it this past Monday evening around the dinner table (during dinner in fact).

First, write a short silly story and label some of the parts of speech which will be replaced such as:

Once upon a time there was an old(adjective 1) farmer(noun 2) who owned some land(noun 3). One day he found a cow(noun 4). It was the healthiest(adjective 5) cow(noun 4) he had ever seen. He made a lot of money by selling(verb ending in “ing” 6) the cow(noun 4). The farmer(noun 2) then spend the rest of his life relaxing(verb ending in “ing” 7) in Hawaii (place 8).

Then have everyone in the family take a blank piece of paper and write down numbers 1-8 along the side. Do not read them the story ahead of time. Start with #1 and have them write down an adjective – any adjective (you’ll probably need to describe what an adjective is). Continue with the rest of the numbers. Then collect the sheets and read each persons’ “story” by substituting the numbers in the story.

You’ll end up with some really funny stories. It doesn’t always work, but often its hilarious. Our kids have been asking to do it again every night and have been quoting parts of the funny stories to each other in giggle bursts since.

Stephen Palmer, from God’s Laws of Finance sent this link on Sunday. Its a great talk from Brigham Young from 1863, where he talks about tithing and how money affects us. Here’s a snippet:

“I could have made this whole people rich long ago if I had possessed their confidence, as I should, but if I had made them rich, through the blessings of the Lord, I expect it would have destroyed them.”

Have a read through the talk – time really hasn’t changed the way to think about money has it?

I changed the scoring mechanism in the Book of Mormon Game yesterday. Its now much easier to play, telling you when you have the right book, and then when guessing the chapter, tells you you need to guess higher or lower until you get it right.
There is a 20 second penalty for each incorrect guess, so it remains competitive for those who really know their stuff, but “playable” for anyone who wants to sharpen their skills and get to know the Book of Mormon better.
Also, the reading tab is going to be updated soon so you can have a place to track your reading and auto-start where you left off.I’m hoping to complete that in the next 2 weeks!

I’ve been studying a lot about faith recently and I’ve discovered a fresh perspective on having Faith in Jesus Christ that I’d like to share.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we should be experts on the subject of faith. We can quote scriptures to describe it, such as:

Hebrews 11:1

“…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Ether 12:6

“…faith is things which are hoped for and not seen…”

Alma 32:21

“faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.”

Joseph Smith, the latter-day prophet described faith as a

“principle of power, the moving cause of all action.”

Another writer in the early 1900s named Napolean Hill who spent 30 years studying the most successful people in America, said,

“Faith is the only agency through which the power of God can be harnessed and used by man” (T&GR)

We are constantly told we need be in possession of this stuff called “faith” and that we should be striving to develop and increase it…, but do we really understand what it is? Why is faith a principle of power, and exactly how do we go about getting it?

The standard primary answers (read the scriptures, pray, attend church) don’t explain why those activities can lead to faith and those activities don’t always lead to increased faith if we don’t understand the principle at work. Read the rest of this entry »