Remember, remember, and.... remember

In Mosiah 4:11 it reads:

11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have ^atasted of his love, and have received a ^bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own ^cnothingness, and his ^dgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of ^ehumility, ^fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing ^gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

I think the one of the most important words is this verse is remember. If I spent a little more time remembering who I am, who God is, who my wife is, who are those who have sacrificed in my behalf, who have gone on before me, I think it would help me put things in perspective. I am so absent-minded, and frankly, I think a lot of us are.

Up in Rock Creek, Wyoming there is a grave site for early pioneers who died on their journey to Zion from the Willie handcart company. There is a big rock monument that has the word "Remember" on it. This very word can cause reflection and pondering that can bring a variety of mixed emotions. I made the mistake of forgetting and not remembering how special and wonderful my wife is this past weekend.

"It speaketh of things as they really are.."

In Jacob chapter 4 it reads:

13 Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the ^aSpirit speaketh the ^btruth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really ^care, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us ^dplainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also ^espake them unto prophets of old.

The thought I want to ponder on is: "Wherefore, it (The Spirit) speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be, these things are manifested unto us plainly"

This is true! This what I love about being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. We have the knowledge of revelation, and it comes through the Holy Ghost which is a gift that is given after being baptized with proper authority. As we keep our covenant with our Heavenly Father, we are able to tap into this revelation about our families, the Gospel, about others whom we serve, and the Spirit will tell us of "things as they really are, and as they really will be." And it will be "manifested unto us plainly."

Sometimes, it is hard to see the picture so plain, and how things really are when our pride hides it from us. I sometimes get this way, and I can't see how things are and how plain it is, until I let go of the pride in my heart. Once I let the pride go, it is so plain and real. The more practice I have at allowing the Spirit tell me how things are, the better I will become at allowing the Spirit tell me how things will be.

If there were a time to speak the tongue of angels...

I work with the Young Men. I have some that struggle in these times. They doubt their testimonies, and sometimes it is painful to see them struggle. I wish I could just open their hearts and pour the feelings I feel inside of them. I wish I could open their minds and dump the knowledge and wisdom I've gained throughout my life. In Alma 29 is says:

1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the ^atrump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and ^acome unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

So yes, I should be content with what the Lord has allotted me. But, he has allotted me the gift to speak the tongue of angels. How do I do this? In 2 Nephi 32 is says:

1 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts?

2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had ^areceived the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the ^btongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?

3 ^aAngels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, ^bfeast upon the ^cwords of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will ^dtell you all things what ye should do.

4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ^aask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will ^ashow unto you all things what ye should do.

Yes, it is through the Holy Ghost. And it requires a lot of pondering and communicating with the Lord. He has promised to show me "all things what I should do."

Speak the tongue of angels

"Speak the tongue of angels" what does this mean? When we are baptized and confirmed a member to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost. This does not mean that we will always feel the Holy Ghost. It is under certain conditions that we will feel the Holy Ghost. In 2 Nephi 31:13 it says:

13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall afollow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no bhypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real cintent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are dwilling to take upon you the ename of Christ, by fbaptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the gbaptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the htongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.

These conditions are 1. following the Son with full purpose of heart without hypocrisy and deception, and with real intent. 2. repenting of your sins. Then we may feel the Holy Ghost and speak with the tongue of angels. It is very clear to me when I speak the tongue of angels. The Holy Ghost occupanies me while the words flow from the mouth. What is even more amazing is the people listening to you, if they are also following the Son with full purpose of heart without hipocrisy and deception and with real intent, having repented of their sins, hear things, see things by this same Spirit that you may not even realize you've said. And they don't always necessarily come from the spoken word. I've been on the speaking end and the listening end when this has happened. I testify that this is true. I've had friends who have wondered why they don't feel the Spirit, and it comes down to the conditions stated in this scripture. Follow the Savior, do as He would do, and do it with real intent. Repent of your sins, we all have them, the Savior has paved the way to clean our vessels so we can be instruments in serving and helping others.

CRUNCH! Wake Up!

Have you ever been in a trans, life seems to be moving day by day, same ol' same ol'? I have been in this state for some time. Life has been great, work is going good, health is good, personal life is great. It seemed as if I've been in this bubble. Outside of the bubble, the economy is slammed, friends going through rough times financially and with their personal lives. But as for myself, the complete opposite. I really have been in a comfortable state; probably too comfortable. I think God has a way to take us out of these states of comfort to wake us up and help us progress. Sometimes this way can be tragic. However, the tradegy is completely based on attitude.
I had a wake up call. This may sound silly, but it was this simple. I was at my parents house, and when leaving, I backed my van into my younger brother's car. As I was backing out, I heard a CRUNCH sound, that made my stomach feel woozy. Wait a second! My life has been going so well, I'm comfortable, this is not suppose to happen to me. It was like a slap in the face. Through the night and into the next morning, I began to think about a lot more stuff than just a fender bender. Funny how that works. I started to realize all the blessings in my life, and realize the high expectations God has for me, and that I was not hitting the mark.
In my personal study this morning I read this scripture, D&C 58:26-29

26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is ^acompelled in all things, the same is a ^bslothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

27 Verily I say, men should be ^aanxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

28 For the power is in them, wherein they are ^aagents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their ^breward.

29 But he that ^adoeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with ^bdoubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is ^cdamned.

It is hard to be anxiously engaged while you're living day by day in a bubble, in a comfort zone. Hopefully, I can recognize when this is happening to me, and find the internal strength to WAKE UP! and bring to pass much righteousness for me, my family and those around me.