In seminary today we were studying in Isaiah 2 where it talks about ascending to the Lord's house on the mountain (The temple). So I thought, that's going to be today's Motivation Monday!
Isaiah 2: 2-3 says, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." To better fully understand the book of Isaiah (since we all know how difficult and confusing it can be) we made a visual as a class. First, we drew a mountain on the whiteboard like it mentioned in the 2nd verse. Next, we drew a temple at the top of the mountain which is "The Lord's house". Then, we drew people "flowing unto it" (People attending the temple). My seminary teacher then asked, "Why do you think Isaiah is putting so much emphasis on words like 'top' or 'hill'"? Students began commenting things like, "Going up/to the top is ascending towards heaven. That is our goal." or, "A hill is a higher place which is where we want to be." Now take a second and imagine that you're walking along in a park or somewhere with an open field of grass. Then all of a sudden you trip and fall into a 12 ft deep, dark hole in the ground. ( Highly unlikely, but just bear with me :). All you can see around you is dirt and grass. Above you is the sky, but only a 4 ft circumference view of it. All you have is that tunnel vision. Anxiety, claustrophobia, and fear starts to settle in. You are trapped. How does that make you feel? How does that feel to be stuck and have no other view of anything around you? Now this time imagine hiking a super tall mountain (Mt. Timp or the Y -for all you Utahn's out there)... A couple hours later you reach the top. In contrast to being stuck in a hole, you can see everything around you: adjacent mountains, the valley below, white fluffy clouds above you, etc. How do you feel now?Peace, comfort, free, secure, content, happy, joyful, relieved, etc. Now this last and final time, imagine being in the temple. Weren't your emotions the same as how you felt at the top of the mountain? That is what Isaiah is trying to say in those 2 verses. Our Heavenly Father wants us to LOOK UP towards him! He wants us to enjoy all of the many blessings that come with attending the temple. Every time we leave the temple we have left with more spiritual power than before. We will have left with more power to resist temptation. We will have left with the desire to become better. Just like with hiking a mountain, the journey of getting to the temple can be difficult if you are working towards getting a recommend. It won't always be easy... but yes, it WILL be worth it. Today's Motivation Monday is a bit lengthy than usual so I'll just end with a short story by Carl B. Cook that he shared one General Conference that I thought was perfect for this post! Happy Monday Lovelies! ... "At the end of a particularly tiring day toward the end of my first week as a General Authority, my briefcase was overloaded and my mind was preoccupied with the question “How can I possibly do this?” I left the office of the Seventy and entered the elevator of the Church Administration Building. As the elevator descended, my head was down and I stared blankly at the floor.The door opened and someone entered, but I didn’t look up. As the door closed, I heard someone ask, “What are you looking at down there?” I recognized that voice—it was President Thomas S. Monson. I quickly looked up and responded, “Oh, nothing.” (I’m sure that clever response inspired confidence in my abilities!) But he had seen my subdued countenance and my heavy briefcase. He smiled and lovingly suggested, while pointing heavenward, “It is better to look up!” As we traveled down one more level, he cheerfully explained that he was on his way to the temple. When he bid me farewell, his parting glance spoke again to my heart, “Now, remember, it is better to look up.”
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Today's sacrament meeting was incredible. I felt the spirit so strongly and felt that I should share what I learned with you all! One of the speakers shared his thoughts and stories relating to Elder Rasband's talk just this past General Conference titled "Standing with the leaders of the Church." He shared a quote of Rasband's that said, "Questions are an indication of a further desire to learn, to add to those truths already in place in our testimonies, and to be better prepared to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ.” Let this quote kind of sink in as I also want to share my thoughts and impressions. I have had so much on my mind relating to this quote. So bear with me! Hopefully I'll be able to thoroughly express my thoughts how I want to :) During trials and hard circumstances, there are 2 questions that we can ask... Why has God done this TO me? or Why has God done this FOR me? The difference is our perspective. There have been many times in my own life where I could have asked the first question: Why has God done this TO me? If you know me personally or have read my post several months ago called "The family is ordained of God" you would know of my upbringing and circumstance of being raised in a single parent family. It is all I know as my dad was out of the picture soon after I was born. But it doesn't change the fact of all the trials and difficult things me and my family has had to (and still) deal with. Those 2 questions have been on my mind a lot. Should I choose to be bitter and angry at my Heavenly Father for having to live without a father figure for 16 years and counting? Or should I be grateful that I have had to live without a father figure 16 years and counting because it has made me stronger spiritually, mentally, and emotionally in many ways I could ever imagine? We have a choice. We are in charge of our attitudes. We determine what we feel and how we want to feel when we wake up. We have the agency to choose whether to be happy or to be bitter. Basically what I am trying to say is, is that we can decide how circumstances and nasty things that happen to us, can effect us. That doesn't mean that we have to be strong all of the time. Heavenly Father does not expect that of us. We all have had or will have our weak times. And that is OK! Along with this, I've been thinking about progression and perfection. It is not our mission to be perfect in this life. That is for the life after this. I struggle with this, as I'm sure we all do! Heavenly Father doesn't want us to feel this way. It is okay to fail. It is okay to fall short. You know why? Because we can always get back up. Always. Here is a quote by Elder Holland that I absolutely love, Have hope. Instead of blaming Heavenly Father, thank Him. Thank Him for standing by you and with you during your difficult times. Thank Him for allowing opposition to happen so that you are able to enjoy the good. Thank Him for those excruciating times where you came out strong in the end. Thank Him for all that He has done FOR you. Thank Him for giving "...his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) I love all of you amazing readers and I thank you for your support. Here is a link to a video called "The Refiner's fire". As I always say, If you've seen it... watch it again! The woman in the video went through many horrible and sad things. She even asked, "Why me?" But despite that, she came out strong. So, watch it!:) Happy Sunday Lovelies!! https://youtu.be/-DIIgm6xABQ |
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Ponderize Of The Week:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." - James 1:5-6 Quote Of The Week:
"Give it to God and go to sleep." - Unknown |