Be Knowledgeable

“And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” (Doctrine & Covenants  130:19)

I understand that for many this may be a difficult step to take.  Becoming knowledgeable can seem like a daunting task, especially for someone who equates gaining knowledge with what we had to do in school, all that reading and studying.  For some this step is made a little easier because of a love for reading, which is what makes it so enjoyable for me. 

I do enjoy reading.  I love learning something new, and I really like sharing what I learn with others.  I first realized this when I was in college.  I was reading a book that I found to be so fascinating that I couldn’t keep it to myself.  Every day I would tell my roommate about what I had read.  I didn’t realize how much I was sharing until one day she said, “I’ll never have to read another book for the rest of my life.”  I’m not sure if she wanted me to stop or if she had made a happy discovery.  I don’t remember if I kept telling her about my reading experience or not, but knowing me, I probably did.  And that love of sharing what I learn is why I’m writing this blog.  

A couple of decades later, I stumbled across a new reason to study.  The more I learn, especially about the gospel, the happier I am, the more hope I have for the future and the more faith I have that everything that happens is for my good.  The most amazing thing happens when we dedicate a portion of each day to studying the gospel.  Our connection to the Holy Ghost becomes stronger.  The light that the Spirit shines in our minds grows brighter.  It is not only easier to grasp the meaning of what we’re reading, but we have a greater desire to read more, to understand more and to apply it in our lives.  The overall effect is an increase in spirituality. 

Strangely enough, I learned this while studying the gospel connection to depression.  I learned about depression, but more importantly I learned that the companionship of the Holy Ghost, which can be enhanced through gospel study, is an important and very large component of staving off depression, at least in my case.  So the knowledge I gained in this case was two-fold: what I was actually reading about and pondering, as well as the very real effect studying the gospel had on my emotional and spiritual well-being.  

Not all learning comes through reading.  We can also learn from listening to others or from experience, but in all learning we must never forget that gaining knowledge is to learn what is true.  Something that is not true is not knowledge.  How do we know if something is true?

“Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time." (2 Nephi 4:23)  

All knowledge ultimately comes through personal revelation.  We may acquire information in many ways, but the knowledge, knowing that what we have learned is true, always comes from the Holy Ghost.  “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” (Moroni 10:5)

The more we learn about the gospel, the more we will want to learn.  As we take in knowledge, our testimonies strengthen, branch out and touch upon new and perhaps unexplored areas of God’s plan for us.  We begin to see how everything fits together perfectly.  There may be some mysteries that escape our understanding, but we have the promise that at some time, in God’s time, even those things will be made plain to us.

“If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things--that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” (Doctrine & Covenants 42:61)

Knowing that Jesus is the Christ and that He died for us that we might be forgiven and live again is the most important piece of knowledge anyone can gain.  Learning more of the gospel helps us to better understand what it means to be forgiven, how to seek that forgiveness, and how to prepare for the life that awaits us after this one ends.  Studying the word of God daily gives us an advantage in this life.  It is a way to lay claim to the companionship of the Holy Ghost.  It gives us the power to withstand temptation, the courage to face hardships, and the strength to overcome challenges.   

My suggestion for this step:  Pick a subject and devote time every day to reading and pondering what the Lord has to say about it.  Pray about it.  Write about it in your journal.  Look for every connection to the subject that you can think of in the Topical Guide.  Read what the prophets have written on the subject.  (Gospelink.com is a great resource.  At a minimal cost, you have thousands of books available to you.)  I have done this with several different topics and have found it a very productive way to study and an amazing way to internalize some of the teachings of the Savior.  

This is one step I already put into practice, but I have to make sure I don’t get lazy and stop.  As we learn from the allegory of the tree of life, we must cling to the word of God if we are to find our way to Him so that we can truly partake of His love and receive the greatest gift of all.  If we are clinging to His word, our knowledge will be increasing day by day, and we will be Happy Like Jesus.

Be Humble

“Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (Doctrine & Covenants 112:10)

When I worked at the American Red Cross, I joined a lunch group that got together once or twice a month to practice public speaking.   In my one and only speech before the group, I started out by saying, “Most of my life I have wanted to be perfect.  I have come very close, but I still lack humility.”  I got the laugh I was going for, but ironically, I stopped attending the luncheon shortly thereafter because I liked my speaking style and didn’t want to change.  (See, that’s ironic because to be humble means to be teachable, and I was not being teachable.)

Being humble is one of those attributes that can seem quite elusive as you try to make improvements.  How do you improve without recognizing progress?  Can you acknowledge progress while being humble?  If you say you are humble, then have you just lost some of your humility? 

Having a thorn, as Paul puts it, that we just can’t get rid of, helps to keep us humble.  I may be able to change some things about myself, but if it were really in my power, I would not still be working on the same problems that have plagued me since my youth. 

Seeing the miraculous conversion that takes place over time also helps with the humility.  I recognize that some of the things that have changed in me could not have been accomplished through anything I did.  I actually stand in awe when I think of the effect the Lord has had on me. 

Another part of being humble comes from just realizing how inexplicable God’s power and knowledge are.  How is it God knows everything before it happens?  How does He know thousands of years in advance exactly what will come to pass?  How could He tell the prophets of the Old Testament about the Savior to come, how He would die and even what He would say on the cross?  It’s beyond my comprehension. 

When David went before Goliath, a young boy with a slingshot and stones facing a giant of a man with armor and heavy weapons, David said he knew he would prevail because he knew the God of Israel would show that He was God.  He didn’t go out to face this champion of the Philistines with pride that he was stronger and more courageous than all the Israelite men who had failed to take Goliath’s challenge.  He went before the enemy of the Lord’s people with faith that came from being humble and acknowledging that not only was he small and weak before God but so was his enemy.   Being humble gave him courage.  He knew the outcome did not depend on him. 

If we were able to overcome every obstacle in life and resist every temptation and acquire every virtue and always act with perfect faith – well, we can’t, so why go on?  None of us is perfect.  Imagine we are almost perfect and only fail once to do the right thing.  That one act makes us unclean.  It separates us from God.  Just one little transgression and we are helpless to recover what we have lost - exaltation. 

There is only one way to recover it.  We must accept the atonement of Jesus Christ.  He alone can save us.  Only He can undo the damage we have done.  Through an act of love and sacrifice that is as incomprehensible as God knowing everything before it happens, the Lord is able to do what no one else can do.  Without that act, without Him, we are lost; we are the most pitiful of creatures.  When we understand that fact, it is not difficult to be humble. 

Nothing we can ever do will make as much difference as what has been done for us by the Savior.  Nothing even comes close.  The totality of our thoughts, words and deeds do not even move the scale if the atonement is weighted on the other side.  When we realize this, all we have left to do is acknowledge, “My God, how great thou art.”

“Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.” (Alma  27:18)

Being humble will not only allow us to receive guidance and blessings that make this life easier, but as we live by faith, it will also give us the courage to do what we must do to be happy like Jesus.

Be Spiritually-Minded

“The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single to the glory of God, thy whole body shall be full of light.” (JST Matthew 6:22) 

To be truly spiritually-minded is to have an eye single to the glory of God.  It is possible but requires more than a perfunctory performance of our spiritual duties of praying, reading the scriptures, and attending church meetings.  We can do all of these things and still be just skimming the surface of righteous living. 

The first step to being spiritually-minded is controlling our input.  If we take in garbage, our mind will focus on garbage.  If we take in spiritual food, we will focus on the spiritual.  Our input is everything that enters our minds, whether it be something we read, see, or hear.  Controlling our thoughts is easier than it seems.  Once we consciously start focusing on the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ by letting that be what we read, what we listen to and how we entertain ourselves, our thoughts will naturally turn in that direction. 

I’m not suggesting that we can’t do anything but sit around and read the Bible all day while listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Our TV does not always have to be tuned to the BYU channel or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.  We just have to be sure to tune in often enough to the messages that help us feel the Holy Ghost so that, even when we are doing something else, the Spirit continues to guide our thoughts and feelings.  At some point, our spiritual-mindedness will change what we want to listen to or watch, and we may naturally begin to leave out some of what used to be a regular part of our life because it no longer is enjoyable. 

To be spiritually-minded means that the flesh is ruled by the spirit.  All worldly attractions are filtered through the spiritual protection that we receive from the Holy Ghost.  We determine the worth of all that we do by measuring it on the scale of righteousness, or one might say holiness since that was the first part of our Be Happy Like Jesus experience.     

“And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son -- The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son -- And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people.” (Mosiah 15:1-5)

These verses say that Jesus is the Father and the Son and that the Son, or the flesh, became subject to the Father, or the spirit.  It also reminds us that there is a Father in Heaven and that in becoming subject to the Spirit, Jesus was subject to the Father.  What we can learn from this is that flesh becoming subject to the spirit means the child becoming subject to the Father.  It is not my spirit, my mind, my will controlling my physical desires and passions.  My will or my spirit must be turned over to the Father.  His will must take over.  Then my flesh, my worldly choices will be subject to His will.  Alone, we can never have the true realization of spirit completely dominating the flesh.  We will fail every time – eventually.  It is like trying to earn salvation and exaltation on our own.  There is only so far that we can go.  Jesus has to take us the rest of the way through the atonement.

Jesus warned against trying to hide who we are inside by appearing to others to be righteous.  Righteousness needs to be the inner force that drives what we do and therefore defines who we are.  If we feel the need to disguise our inner selves, we have need to repent.  Righteous living serves no purpose if it is done only for appearance sake.  To receive a glorious reward, righteous living must be the product of righteous thinking and must proceed honestly from the heart.  In the end, all that matters is the true inner self, “for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)  We will be judged on who we really are, not who we present to the world or how others perceive us to be. 

We must put everything in proper order and realize that everything is spiritual.  It is possible to be one with the Savior if our spirit commands our body, if we have become spiritually-minded.   We must not only accept Him as our Savior intellectually, but we must allow Him to enter our minds and hearts and change the way we think and feel.  By internalizing Him, He becomes part of who we are, and we become part of Him.  He actually changes who we are.  He changes our hearts or desires.  When we truly internalize everything He is, we can no longer live a sinful, carnal life.  Our mind will be single to the glory of God. 

Be Holy

"Ye shall be holy; for I am holy."  (Leviticus 11:44)

32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. 

33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.  (Moroni 10: 32-33)

Everything that is of the Lord is holy.  If we are to be the Lord’s people, our ultimate goal is therefore to be holy.  That is a goal that takes time and effort.  It requires a change of heart, putting off the natural man and becoming spiritual in thought, word and deed.  Even our desires will be changed as we consciously attempt to become holy.    

In order to reach this lofty goal, we must have a clear understanding of what it means and then be completely and consistently committed to advancing toward that state.  To be holy means to belong to God or to conform to His will.  In scripture we read of holy prophets, holy lands, holy objects - especially those used in the temple - holy days, holy works, holy callings, holy purposes, holy desires, holy hands, the holy priesthood, holy faith, holy law, holy kiss, and the holy temple. 

The Sabbath is holy because it is His day.  We keep it holy by doing that which conforms to His will.  If we do not keep it holy, it does not cease to be His day.  We just miss the blessings that come from conforming to His will.  However, the Sabbath day was changed at one time from the seventh day of the week to the first day.  It is the Sabbath because it is the will of the Lord. 

The priesthood does not stop being holy if someone attempts to misuse it.  Such a person loses the ability to call upon the powers of the priesthood, but the priesthood belongs to God and only exists through Him.  It is always holy.  It is the user who may stop being holy. 

A holy temple may stop being holy if it is defiled and the spirit of the Lord is therefore withdrawn from it.  Objects that are to be used in sacred ceremonies in the temple may be defiled and therefore stop being holy.  A holy prophet who stops doing the will of the Lord and follows after his own desires ceases to be holy and ceases to be a prophet. 

So some things are holy because Heavenly Father has made it so, and man can do nothing to change that.  Other things are holy because they are used by man according to the purposes of God and in compliance with His will.  Of great importance to us, as we strive to become like the Savior, are the latter.  We need to develop holy desires and holy purposes and a holy faith by having a change of heart and accepting our holy callings and fulfilling them with holy works by using holy hands.  In other words, we must begin to become holy in our desires, thoughts, words, and deeds.

The second chapter in Happy Like Jesus is Be Holy.  At first I thought it strange that something so all-encompassing and time-consuming, something that we are most likely not going to fully accomplish in this life, or at least not till we near the end of it, would come before other things that are smaller in nature and quicker to achieve, such as being humble, knowledgeable, obedient, forgiving, dedicated or disciplined.  Then I realized that, in order to even attempt to achieve these other goals, one must have the desire to make such changes.  That desire comes from having a reverence for God and all things spiritual.  It is developed through replacing those activities and pastimes that feed competing desires.  In order to move forward in achieving a change of heart, one must begin with the right attitude.  The attitude is one of a holy reverence for all things pertaining to Jesus Christ and His gospel.  To get started on this sacred path that leads to a change of heart, we must seek for a holy desire to do so.  Otherwise, we will never take the first step.

Then we will see that becoming holy is accomplished step by step as we make progress on all the other attributes we are attempting to claim as our own.  With each step in the right direction we become a little more holy.  We will witness our desires becoming more pure and more in keeping with the Lord’s will.  There will come a time when His will is our will.  Then we will no longer be spending our time or energy doing things that make us unholy.  We will be His people.  We will be doing His work.  We will be instruments in His hands.  That which defiles us heart, mind and body will no longer have any appeal for us. 

If this is what we seek, we must live as though it were already a reality.  Everything we do, everything we say, everything we read or listen to must convey the love and respect we have for the Lord.  There is no time that is not His time.  We are never off the clock and therefore free to do things that might offend Him.  It is never okay to be sacrilegious,  irreverent or to mock that which is holy. 

We do not want to be holier than thou or sanctimonious.  We do not want to judge others.  And we have to remember that we cannot become perfect in an instant.  We are imperfect beings living in an imperfect world full of many people who have an effect on us in one way or another.  Don’t forget the first step in becoming like Jesus.  We want to be happy like Him.  That happiness will increase if we can work on self-improvement without offending others or getting weighed down with the enormity of the task and without becoming discouraged when we are not perfect in our efforts.

This is a one-step-at-a-time journey.  Choose a step and take it.  For many just keeping the Sabbath day holy is a perfect first step.  It is one day that is set aside for us to be holy.  Can we be holy one day a week?  I think I can do that. 

Happy Like Jesus

I have decided on a few goals for the next year.  One that I will be sharing through this blog is that I want to be Happy Like Jesus.  That’s the title of a new book I tripped over this morning.  When I saw the chapters, that they are all about taking on an attribute of Jesus so that we can be happy as He is, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do. 

I tired of the traditional goals of exercising more and losing weight and other such ideas that get overdone years ago.  A few years back I decided from now on my goals are going to be more meaningful and have an eternal perspective.  That first year I just wanted to have more faith.  I’ve been working on that ever since and have seen quite a bit of improvement as well as a need to keep going.  Last year I tackled two big ones: stop judging others and forgive quickly.  Again, seen improvement, need much more. 

A big stumbling block for me in the last year or so has been that there are so many things going wrong in this country and the world that I’ve started to worry and to lose sight of how faith drives away all fear.  In an effort to stop the fear, I have wanted to stop looking at the news, but then I don’t want to be ignorant of what is going on.  Quite a dilemma.  With that quandary in the back of my mind, I found this book and read the intro and first chapter which tackles the question: How can Jesus be happy when all around Him, He sees sin, pride, disbelief, hatred and even personal attacks on Him?  Heber C. Kimball said, “I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured Being. Why? Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have His Spirit.”  So am I.  I am at my happiest when I can feel the presence of the Holy Ghost. 

So if God and His Son, knowing all that is, that ever was and that ever will be, are happy, I can be happy too.  My goal this year is to find that happiness that exists in the midst of trials and suffering.  That happiness is found by living as a true disciple of Christ.  Jesus said, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  In the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, He tells us that we are blessed or happy if we are humble in spirit, mourn and are compassionate, are meek, hunger and thirst after righteousness, are merciful and pure in heart, are peacemakers, and if we are persecuted because of Him.

As D. Kelly Ogden said in Happy Like Jesus, “True disciples of Christ have an obligation to be cheerful, hopeful, and optimistic about the future.”  We just celebrated Christmas, in which we were reminded that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is glad tidings of great joy unto all people.  Instead of focusing on all the bad things that are happening, we need to focus on all the good that is happening.  We need to be talking about and furthering the work of the Savior.  We need to follow His example and be positive and optimistic.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said that, with the comforting words the Savior has spoken to us, we should not be unhappy, worried or gloomy.   He reminds us that, “On that very night [of Gethsemane], the night of the greatest suffering the world has ever known or ever will know, [the Savior] said, ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’ (John 14:27). I submit to you that [this] may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed.”

Those who have an eternal perspective are optimistic and happy despite all the horrors playing out around us now.  They know that good will triumph over evil, that Jesus has conquered sin and death and that Satan will be put down. 

After Jesus washed the feet of his apostles at the Last Supper, He said, “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you….If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”  (John 13:15, 17) 

If we follow His example, we can and will be happy, no matter what.  Next year I am going to stop focusing on Satan’s side of the war and focus on the Lord’s side.  I will do my best to become more like Jesus.  For someone who has suffered depression as much as I have, saying I am going to be happy like Jesus is very significant.  I can do it.  I know I can, and if I can, I know others can as well.  I invite my followers to take this journey with me. 

Merry Christmas

I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.  (2 Nephi 33:6) 

It is easy to love Christmas.  Beautiful lights are strung on homes, buildings and trees.    Joyful music is heard on the radio, in stores, and even in commercials.  Movies about love, hope and giving are aired constantly.  Shoppers spend more time buying for someone else rather than themselves.   Brightly colored packages are piled under trees adorned with beautiful ornaments.  The Salvation Army reminds us that others are worse off than us and offers a chance to help them.  The Angel Tree and Toys for Tots are opportunities to truly feel the spirit of Christ as we give to a child who otherwise might do without.  Homemade cookies and candy are prepared to share with friends and coworkers.  Strangers smile and say merry Christmas or happy holidays.  Everyone is having a party. 

Some say all these things are reason to dislike the season or to fret over the commercialization of Christmas or the secularization of the celebration of Christ’s birth.  Anyone can take a negative view of anything.  As followers of Christ, let us take a positive view and love the opportunity to share in a celebration of His birth with those who reverence his life and mission as well as those who just use it as an excuse to have another party.  Choose to be happy for this time set aside to remember the Savior’s birth and take the time to enjoy the peace on earth and goodwill to men that we are celebrating. 

The purpose of the season is not to exchange gifts.  It is not to be with family and loved ones.  It is not to show off our homes and how much we can give.  For years now, every December stories start to pop up about a war on Christmas.  Complaints abound about some person or organization trying to take Christ out of Christmas.  Christmas is a season to remember Christ, and that can only be accomplished or disregarded by each of us individually. 

Take control of your emotions and allow the natural joy of the season to lift you.  Focus on the great wonder that God came to earth to receive a body, that He had a miraculous birth.  Remember that His birth was foretold and anticipated for centuries by prophets.  Celebrate along with the hosts of heaven who announced His birth to the shepherds.  Go with the shepherds to the manger and worship the Lord.  Glory in the true meaning of Christmas, the fact that the Savior came to earth so that He could atone for us and lead us home again. 

And don’t forget that message when the season ends.  As I was looking at my Christmas tree this morning and listening to one of my favorite new seasonal songs, I realized that instead of feeling regret at seeing this season draw to an end, I am anxiously looking forward to Easter. 

So Merry Christmas and may you take the joy and peace of this season with you throughout the coming year and the rest of your life.

Seeing the divine potential

I watched a movie today that I had seen several times before, so there was no surprise coming at any point for me.  As I watched people doing things that made them seem mean, harsh, unforgiving and unlikeable, I thought of them as the good people that they would turn out to be later in the movie when circumstances changed.  I knew that an unexpected turn of events was going to soften their hearts and allow them to see their needy neighbor as someone worthy of their compassion and assistance, not their scorn.  I knew they would turn out to be caring neighbors, not just greedy, selfish businessmen and women who refused to extend credit to a single mother with a sick child.  I knew that their excuses of hard times and survival of the fittest would cease when they came to see her as a caring, hard-working, inventive young woman instead of a penniless beggar.   I waited with happy anticipation for the moment when they would, one by one, learn that she had given from her meager means to help a stranger, even while facing losing her ranch just one year after her husband had died.  I enjoy seeing those who denied her any kind of help start to offer assistance and reach out, not only to this poor mother but to other neighbors as well, with a renewed sense of community.  

As the movie ended, I realized that it would be wonderful if I could see people I deal with in my everyday life the way I saw those people in the beginning of the movie.  I don’t know what will happen to make people change their harsh ways.  It’s impossible to know when someone’s heart will be softened and undergo a change, but I do believe that most people have the good part of their personality surface at some point in their life.  It may then remain as the controlling power over their actions, or it may only make a fleeting appearance.  The important thing for me is to remember that all have that goodness in them because we are all children of God.  Some just do a better job than others of allowing that goodness to guide the way we treat our brothers and sisters. 

Not knowing when anyone’s goodness will come to light, I wish that I could always think of everyone as who they will be when that happens, just as I did when watching the beginning of that movie.  I would like to be able to forgive them their meanness even as it’s happening, because I know that at some point in eternity they will be wonderfully loving.  It would be incredibly liberating to be able to see everyone as who they will be once they realize who they really are and learn how to live up to their divine potential, seeing each person as who they are eventually going to become.  That is how I want to see my family, friends and neighbors and even the strangers who cross my path. 

Unfortunately I haven’t seen the movie of this life before.  So I have to rely on faith in accepting that there is good in all of us because we are all God’s children.  With that faith, I can love and forgive and leave vengeance and punishment where it belongs, in the Lord’s hands.  I have been working for some time now on forgiving quickly and not judging.  What I realized today is that those two things come together and are easier to do when I think of others as they someday will be, not as they are now.