Nine Ways to Draw Closer to God & Hear His Voice Speaking to YOU & ME

I read an article in last week's Church News from Sis. Linda K Burton's CES Devotional address given March 2, 2014.  It reminded me of the importance of seeking and receiving personal revelation, and of some of the things I can do to use the gift of the Holy Ghost more.  I hope you will read and ponder it also.

“We can begin by recognizing that our Father in Heaven wants to communicate with us. We know this because all latter-day prophets have taught the doctrine of personal revelation. … We do the small and simple things that demonstrate that He is first in our lives and that we want to receive revelation from Him.”

1. Sincerely and humbly pray.

“One way to pray sincerely is to learn to formulate sincere and heartfelt questions and humbly take them to the Lord.”  Sister Burton asked questions that President Spencer W. Kimball once asked a group: 

Do you want guidance? 

Have you prayed to the Lord for inspiration? 

Do you want to do right or do you want to do what you want to do whether or not it is right? 

Do you want to do what is best for you in the long run or what seems more desirable for the moment? 

Have you prayed? 

How much have you prayed?

To pray sincerely means individuals intend to act on the answer they receive."

2. Act promptly on spiritual impressions.

Sharing a video of an incident from the life of President Thomas S. Monson illustrating the vital importance of responding promptly to impressions from the Spirit, Sister Burton spoke of the importance of acting and following through with those things the Spirit directs.

3. Search the scriptures daily.

Quoting Elder Robert D. Hales, Sister Burton said, “

When we want to speak to God, we pray. And when we want Him to speak to us, we search the scriptures, for His words are spoken through His prophets.”

Sharing a personal experience when she was 20 years old, Sister Burton spoke of her need to get an answer to heartfelt prayers she was offering while wrestling with a difficult decision. While speaking with her father, he suggested she turn to the scriptures to help guide her decisions.

“I followed his inspired counsel and searched the scriptures.”  After some time and continued earnest effort, I was blessed with an unmistakable answer to my prayer. After offering my best thinking and decision to the Lord, I sincerely asked for a confirmation of that decision and felt a quiet, peaceful assurance deep in my heart.”

4. Live the law of the fast.

“In order to increase our ability to hear the voice of the Spirit, we would all do well to fast each fast Sunday and freely give our fast offering to help those in need.”  Through fasting comes the spirit of prophecy and revelation and the opportunity to be counseled by the Lord.

5. Be worthy and worship in the temple.

Sister Burton quoted President George Albert Smith: “each of us is entitled to the inspiration of the Lord in proportion to the manner in which we live a godly life.”

She pointed out that President Smith didn’t say individuals have to be perfect to receive inspiration, just willing to give their best efforts to living worthily.

“Worthiness seems a small price to pay in order to open the windows of heaven.”  As we keep our covenants and worthily partake of the sacrament, we are promised that we will always have the Spirit to be with us. But that comes after we promise and keep the covenant that we will always remember the Savior.”

6. “Trifle not with sacred things” (D&C 6:12).

Individuals must recognize that revelation from the Lord is a sacred trust, Sister Burton taught. Quoting Elder Richard G. Scott: 

“Inspiration carefully recorded shows God that His communications are sacred to us. … Such recording … should be protected from loss or intrusion by others.”

7. Be prepared to move forward in faith.

Recalling when she and her husband were engaged and making plans for the future, Sister Burton said when faced with questions about school and what career to pursue, or wondering when they should start a family, they turned to counsel given by a living prophet who taught they could have children while they were getting an education and work all at the same time.

“We moved forward in faith.  It wasn’t easy. My husband ended up working three part-time jobs while he was going to school to allow me to begin my new career as a mother and nurturer. That course was in direct opposition to the logic of the world, even at that time. Looking back, we can now see how taking those steps of faith has resulted in eternal blessings, blessings we might have forfeited had we not heeded the voice of the Spirit through the Lord’s chosen prophet.”

8. Let the Lord decide the details of what He chooses to reveal and when He chooses to reveal it.

“Perhaps some of you have had a similar experience to that which our six children have had as they have searched for worthy eternal companions.  Because hindsight is 20/20, they can now see that they each needed to have certain experiences in order to be able to recognize the Lord’s hand leading them to their eternal companions.”

Some of those experiences required years of patiently waiting and moving forward in faith, Sister Burton said. At times the heavens even seemed closed to them as they prayed.

“When the Lord’s timing conflicts with our own desires, trust that there might be some preparatory experiences the Lord needs us to have before our prayers are answered.”

9. Heed prophetic warnings.

Sharing examples of prophetic warnings given by prophets today, Sister Burton taught that it is through tuning one’s heart to the voice of the Spirit that blessings come.

“Of all the gifts our Heavenly Father could have chosen to bestow on His sons and daughters as we leave the waters of baptism, He chose to give us the gift of the Holy Ghost. …

“The voice of the world is loud, unrelenting, persuasive, and persistent. Unless we learn to tune our hearts to the voice of the Spirit and refine our ability to seek, receive, and act on personal revelation, we are on shaky ground at best. We need the voice of the Spirit to guide us away from all that is filthy, foolish, vulgar, violent, selfish, and sinful. We need the Holy Ghost not only to lead us to everything that is ‘virtuous, lovely, or good report and praiseworthy’ but to help us cultivate a desire for those things in order to resist the pull of the world.”

What to do when you have too much to do

This is from the "Getting Things Done" email I received this week, by David Allen:

"Folks, can we hear it for sloth, indolence, and procrastination?!"

That's how I have started many of my seminars over the years. And it always gets thunderous applause and raucous cheers. I think it hits a nerve.

Why? It seems that few people have many good reference points for self-forgiveness and a sense of humor in this world of increasingly too much to do.

I've been working on both (self-forgiveness and sense of humor) for decades now, and still find it quite challenging at times. But you know, when I'm in a loving, whole, and healthy state of mind about myself and about life, everything's cool. Where I am, doing what I'm doing, is exactly where I need to be and what I need to do. God's on [his] throne, the mail is coming, my dog loves me, and tomorrow is just fine right where it is, not showing up until then.

And I don't seem to get to that wonderful state of mind by working harder and faster. Sometimes it helps, but more often it just perpetuates the angst.

I get there by letting go, softening my grip, getting quiet. That's when I can get a peek between the seconds, and in the particularly delicious moments experience the grandeur of just being. That doesn't happen by working harder or smarter. It doesn't happen by working at all. It just happens. I'm not my work. I'm not even my life. I do work, and I have a life. The more I'm able to see myself and my experiences from that neutral place of authorship and ownership, the more I see them for the Shakespearean stage they're playing on, and can enjoy the show (and how I let myself get wrapped up in it)!

But there is a skill, an awareness, a knowing about letting it happen, recognizing the value of those moments, and loosening up the stranglehold we often put on too many things that don't deserve the seriousness. Then those things that just happen, happen more often.

You can't know sloth, indolence and procrastination without having a reference point for the opposites of those. It's just the polarities of human experience. And if you actually did get it all done, on time, time would be out of a job.

Lighten up. We're all in this together. You're fine.

TEN WAYS TO KNOW YOU ARE CONVERTED (to the gospel of Jesus Christ_

1. When you are converted, you not only know what you should do but you also desire to do the right things. It’s not enough to just avoid doing wrong because you are afraid of getting caught or punished. When truly converted, you really want to choose the right.
   
   
2. Another sign of becoming converted is that you have no more desire to do wrong. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies are a great example of this. When they were converted to the gospel of Christ, they “entered into a covenant with God to serve him and keep his commandments” (Mosiah 21:31). Like the Nephites taught by King Benjamin, they had “no more disposition to do evil” (Mosiah 5:2). They became truly converted to the gospel of Christ, and Satan’s temptations had no power over them. To show that they would be true to their covenant to live the gospel, the converted Lamanites buried their weapons (see Alma 24).
3. When you are converted, you are more concerned about what God thinks than what others think about you. At my school in Indonesia, students tend to drink a lot. Sometimes it can be tempting to go out partying when everyone else is doing it and making fun of you for not going. My brother was invited to drink and party many times, but he never did—he stood up for what he believed. It was hard, and he spent plenty of nights home alone. When students were saying good-bye at his graduation, several people shared with him how amazed they were that he was able to resist peer pressure and be true to his standards. They told him how much they looked up to him because of it. He showed he was converted by resisting peer pressure.
   

   “The Lord wants the members of His Church to be fully converted to His gospel. This is the only sure way to have spiritual safety now and happiness forever” (Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy, “Converted to His Gospel through His Church,” Liahona andEnsign, May 2012, 15).

4. When converted, you try your best to live the gospel always—not just on Sundays or when it’s convenient, but all the time. Your actions don’t change depending on who you’re with or who might be watching you. When your peers tell a crude joke or want to watch a dirty movie, you don’t go along with it just because no one is watching; instead you stand up for what you believe.
5. When you are converted, you are more kind and compassionate in dealing with others. You don’t judge or criticize or gossip. You are more aware of others’ feelings, and it becomes natural to look for ways to serve and help. If you are walking down the hall of your school and someone drops his books, you don’t even have to think about what to do. You automatically stop to help.
   
   
6. When you are converted, your desire to pray increases and you feel like you are really communicating with God when you pray. You will always make time to pray no matter how you feel or what is going on in your life. President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) told us, “If we do not feel like praying, then we should pray until we do feel like praying.”
7. When you become converted, you look forward to Sunday because it is the Sabbath. When Sunday comes, instead of thinking, “Oh man, it’s a day that I can’t hang out with my friends or go to the movies,” you think, “Great, a day that I can attend church and focus on spiritual things and spend time with my family!”
8. When converted, you keep the commandments and you don’t look for excuses, rationalize behavior, or try to find gray areas. You don’t try to push the limits; you simply keep the commandments because you know it is the better way.
9. When converted, you look forward to paying your tithing. You view it as a privilege and feel that 10 percent is not that much, especially compared with the blessings and satisfaction you gain. These blessings are worth much more than the money you paid.
   
   
10. When you become converted, you have a strong desire to help others know the truth and happiness that you have found. A good example from the scriptures is Lehi’s dream, in which he had such a strong desire to share the delicious fruit of the tree of life with his family. When he partook of the fruit, his first thought was not to take more for himself but to look for his family so that they could also partake of the fruit and have the same happiness (see1 Nephi 8:12).

In summary, you know you are becoming converted when you start to live the higher law, the gospel of Jesus Christ. You live the spirit of the law as well as the letter of the law. You live the gospel in all aspects of your life. You live the gospel to its fullest, not because you have to but because you want to. You are a happier and nicer person, and you want to become the person Heavenly Father wants you to be. You want to be like Jesus Christ and follow His example. When you become that person, you have truly been converted.

From the New Era magazine,  April 2013

Make Your Home a MTC (Missionary Training Center)

Here's a Family Home Evening Idea for you.  It's based on the message we discussed in our last Relief Society week night meeting.  The presenter asked us what missionaries do and then reviewed with us some of their daily activities and how we might help our children/ grandchildren practice doing what they will do on their missions.

1 STUDY - D&C 11:21 and PMG (Preach My Gospel) p. 17 - study the scriptures and this amazing book, as well as other resources from the Church.

2.  TEACH - PMG p. 29 (last paragraph)  Give children opportunities to teach in FHE, family scripture study, Sunday School and YM/YW classes, home teaching, missionary splits.  What other opportunities can you think of?

3.  TESTIFY - PMG p. 198  Teach your children what a testimony of and how to simply state what they know to their friends without necessarily sounding "preachy."

4.  OYM - OPEN YOUR MOUTH  D&C 33:8-10  & D& 11:21  Accept the challenge to have at least one conversation per week about the gospel with someone not of our faith.    He shared this story:

There was a man who was famous for his ability to give a sermon on any topic at any time.  A church found out about this talent and inved him to come and preach.  They wanted to test him on his ability to do this and so they told him that he would walk to the podium and there would be a white piece of paper with his topic written on it.  He was to read it and then give a half hour sermon on that topic.

The man went to the podium and when he looked at the white piece of paer, he found that it was completely blank.  He smiled and looked over at the organizers, who had sheepish grins on their faces.  he then turned toward the congregation and delivered an hour-long sermon on purity and being white and clean.

Our presenter then asked us if we could do that and how would we do so.  Then he divided us into groups of 2 and gave each group a bowl with several slips of paer in it.  We were to choose one of the pieces of paper and speak for 2 minutes on that topic.  He reminded us to bear our testimony and to teach what we know and feel.  He invited us to br totally awesome by using a scripture or two.  Here are the topics:

Baptism    
Commandments    
Prophets    
Life after death    
Priesthood    
Word of Wisdom    
Atonement    
Prayer

5.  WORK - Give children responsibilities and encourage them to get a summer job when they are in high school that involves interacting with people.  He referred to Elder L. Tom Perry's talk "Raising the Bar" found in the Nov 2007 Ensign magazine.

6.  EXERCISE - PMG p. viii  All missionaries are required to exercise 30 minutes/day.

7.  SERVE & LOVE - PMG p. 148 (middle paragraph)  Missionaries are required to give 4 hours/week serving.

8.  GET REJECTED - Do not protect children/ youth from the consequences of life that teach them how to deal with rejection and discouragement.  Teach them how you deal with disappaointment and trials.  Talk about it and help them develop skills that build their resilience.  (There's a great article in this month's Ensign.)

9.  BE WORTHY - PMG, chapter 4  Teach children/ youth that they do not need to be perfect; they need to be clean.

In the Nov 2005 Ensign, David A Bednar stated, "the single most important thing you can do to prepare for a call to serve is to become a missionary long before you go on a mission. Please notice that in my answer I emphasized becomingrather than going..."

I hope these ideas will help you think of what you can do NOW and from now on to help your children/ youth prepare to serve a mission.

What the past is for...

“This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.”

― Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

Forgiveness in Marriage

I read about a lecture given on Feb 21 by Dr. Frank Fincham, director of FSU's Family Institute.  A quote from the lecture:

"A happy marriage is a union of two good forgivers."

Another:

"Forgiveness is a process, not an event..."

And another:

"People in happy marriages who have been married for a long time report that one of the most important factors that has allowed them to experience these long happy marriages is the ability to grant and receive forgivess.  It is ranked one of the top five attributes of their marriage."

If you want to listen to the lecture, it's on youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frSCWv9LNbY

I'm going to listen to it tomorrow morning.  I'll let you know what I think an hope you'll do the same if you listen to it.

“People Change Every Day”

From Music & the Spoken Word:

Have you ever bumped into someone you knew years ago, surprised to find how much he or she had changed for the better? Life is full of little miracles, but this is perhaps the greatest miracle of all-to see people change, grow, and improve, day by day and little by little.”

Imagine how different life would be if we saw people not for who they are right now, but for who they could become. Think of how we might respond differently to a child if we looked past his failed and messy attempts to make something and into his productive, positive future. Consider the boss, spouse, teenager, or neighbor whose occasional annoying behaviors sometimes put us at odds. What if we could see them as the better person they might become? This may be the most important way we can change-in our ability to believe in and nurture change in others.

Clinton Duffy was a prison warden in the United States during the 1940s and 50s. He was well known for his efforts to rehabilitate the men in his prison. One critic who was skeptical of these efforts said to the warden, "You should know that leopards don't change their spots!" But Duffy replied, with the wisdom and perspective that comes of experience: "You should know I don't work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day."¹

It's not always easy to see others as they can become, and it very often takes patience and faith. Too often we give ourselves and others a reputation, a perception, that makes change difficult. But people can surprise us, even inspire us, with how they can and often will change for the better.

1. In Thomas S. Monson, "See Others as They May Become," Ensign, Nov. 2012, 69.