The Lord's way.

I'm doing something called Feel Great in Eight. It is a health program, mixed with spiritually uplifting goals. I have overcome a few addictions with this program and one that I have recently been working on is striving to LIVE like Christ lived, by doing my very best to exemplify his behavior. This has been extremely difficult as I have intended to take my love to a much higher level. This has required a deeper level of forgiveness and submission than I tend to feel comfortable with on a regular basis. This requires a constant devotion of conscious effort and commitment. I am still working on this and probably will be my whole mortal life, but I would absolutely LOVE if the destructive spirit of contention, resentment, and revenge were completely and entirely absent from my life.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said it best in this last conference when he said, "We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. God is our Father. We are His children. We are all brothers and sisters."

We are all brothers and sisters.

He continues to say the following:

"When we feel hurt, angry, or envious, it is quite easy to judge other people, often assigning dark motives to their actions in order to justify our own feelings of resentment".

"As always, Christ is our exemplar. In His teachings as in His life, He showed us the way. He forgave the wicked, the vulgar, and those who sought to hurt and to do Him harm."

"Jesus said it is easy to love those who love us; even the wicked can do that. But Jesus Christ taught a higher law. His words echo through the centuries and are meant for us today. They are meant for all who desire to be His disciples. They are meant for you and me: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

"We are not perfect."

"The people around us are not perfect. People do things that annoy, disappoint, and anger. In this mortal life it will always be that way."

"Nevertheless, we must let go of our grievances. Part of the purpose of mortality is to learn how to let go of such things. That is the Lord’s way."

"Remember, heaven is filled with those who have this in common: They are forgiven. And they forgive."

"Lay your burden at the Savior’s feet. Let go of judgment. Allow Christ’s Atonement to change and heal your heart. Love one another. Forgive one another."

"The merciful will obtain mercy."

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I know without a doubt that the Lord's way is supposed to be our way. In a world that has so many wicked habits and tendencies, we must personally make a commitment to be different. We all need the Savior's help and the Savior himself needs more of us to be willing to exemplify his pure love through our very own loving countenance and righteous ways.

All Merciful.

One of my favorite quotes after reading through this month's General Conference addresses for my church, was this quote by Elder Holland:

"Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful - especially to those who don't expect it and especially to those who feel they don't deserve it."

This is surely where the atonement plays into our lives. We all depend upon that forgiveness and that comfort which makes us feel whole again. It's so very relieving that we have such a merciful God whom helps us to acknowledge our eternal potential and the importance of it.

To have been the recipient of God's mercy, on more occasions that I dare try to count... all the while not expecting it, nor feeling like I deserve it, has truly made me want to dig deeper and find a way to be better and more deserving of His love and goodness.

What a great quote.

When you are in your thoughts all alone, just trying to understand the significance of feelings within your heart... often times you judge yourself. You label yourself as weak, incompetent, and broken.

Thank goodness that LOVE itself is so very very very real. Love changes the patterns of our lives. When you come to know both your Heavenly Father and the Savior for yourself, you gain a full knowledge of what love truly is and what YOUR love is truly capable of.

I have been looking over and reading some of April's Conference articles HERE and a quote that completely stood out to me today was this, by Paul E. Koelliker :

"The feeling of love from our Heavenly Father is like a gravitational pull from heaven. As we remove the distractions that pull us toward the world and exercise our agency to seek Him, we open our hearts to a celestial force which draws us toward Him.... I am confident that our Heavenly Father’s arms are constantly extended, ever ready to embrace each one of us and say to each one with that quiet, piercing voice, “I love you.”

Do you ever feel you have so many problems, such real concerns, and that you get overwhelmed with the challenges of life?

I do.

I loved reading this very specific and optimistic suggestion from our prophet, Thomas S. Monson: seek heavenly guidance one day at a time. Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day—and then one more and then one more after that—until we’ve lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness. The Savior promised, “Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.”

Take one day at a time... or an inch if you will and truly strive for greatness.

A burden too difficult to bear.....

Once there was a women who was deep in a tremendous trial; she had a small family to support and this burden was just to difficult to bear. She constantly called upon the Lord, begging him to remove this trial from her life, and couldn't understand why her prayers seemed to go unanswered. One day after she returned from the grocery store, she was carrying in the groceries when she spied her little three year old trying desperately trying to lift the gallon jug of milk. The little girl pulled and tugged but to no avail, she couldn't move the jug. The mother watched her struggle as the little girl tried so hard to help her mother with the load. Finally the woman picked up the jug, as she had the Lord to do for her so many times, taking the milk from the child. The little girl began to cry, "I want to do it...." she mumbled. The she lifted her head as her eyes lit up, "Mom, I know! I'll carry the milk and you carry me."

Let us Choose Faith.

Faith----The Choice is Yours.
Quoted from Richard C. Edgley

Yes, faith is a choice, and it must be sought after and developed. Thus, we are responsible for our own faith. We are also responsible for our lack of faith. The choice is yours.

There is much that I do not know. I do not know the details of the organization of matter into the beautiful world we live in. I do not understand the intricacies of the Atonement, how the Savior’s sacrifice can cleanse all repentant people, or how the Savior could suffer “the pain of all men” (D&C 18:11). I do not know where the city of Zarahemla was, as referred to in the Book of Mormon. I do not know why my beliefs sometimes conflict with assumed scientific or secular knowledge. Perhaps these are matters our Father in Heaven described as the “mysteries … of heaven” (D&C 107:19) that will be revealed at a later date.

But while I don’t know everything, I know the important. I know the plain and simple gospel truths that lead to salvation and exaltation. I know that the Savior did suffer the pain of all men and that all repentant people can be cleansed from sin. And what I don’t know or don’t completely understand, with the powerful aid of my faith, I bridge the gap and move on, partaking of the promises and blessings of the gospel. And then, as Alma teaches, our faith brings us to a perfect knowledge (see Alma 32:34). By moving forward into the unknown, armed only with hope and desire, we show evidence of our faith and our devotion to the Lord.

And so, following Alma’s formula, let us choose. Let us choose faith.

Remembering Stephen at OneTrueMedia.com

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Faith in the Savior's Atonement and Heavenly Father's Plan

This Video warms my heart in soooo many ways and reminds me of that what is deeply rooted inside of me. For me, it really puts into perspective the importance of religion and faith and how they can help move us forward, while having those that we have lost, still close to our hearts. I know that the assurance and hope that I will one day be with Stephen again... as well as the rest of my family... comes directly from that of my Faith. Through knowledge of the Savior's atonement and Heavenly Father's plan, we gain a richer perspective about life and death.

After watching this video, I can even say that, I too... am "grateful that God allows tragedies and trials to occur in our lives--- not because they're easy or because they're desired, but because they help us to LOVE."

I miss our baby Stephen and every detail of the 44 days that he spent with our family.

Please, take a few minutes to watch this video. You will most certainly be glad that you did.