The last part of the 4th Article of Faith states our belief in the “laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
We believe that men who hold the restored priesthood of God can bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost to baptized members of the LDS Church. The gift of the Holy Ghost is different from the Holy Ghost as a personage of Spirit. The Holy Ghost himself is part of the Godhead and is a distinct personage, but many at the same time can feel his influence. It is similar to the sun. While the sun itself stays in the sky, people in California can feel sunshine at the same time as people in New York.
The gift of the Holy Ghost means the right to his constant companionship or influence. We believe that as we strive to live the gospel by keeping the commandments, we will have the guidance that comes from the Holy Ghost. We believe that those who have not yet been baptized are not entitled to the constant companionship, but recognize that anyone can feel a prompting from the Holy Ghost from time to time.
It is the mission of the Holy Ghost to witness all truth. Whenever anything is true, the Holy Ghost can witness that to those who are sincere in their efforts to find the truth. The Bible contains records of people who experienced a witness by the Holy Ghost before they were baptized into the Church. The same is true today. When missionaries teach true principles of the gospel, those who are earnestly seeking the truth and are listening with sincere hearts will have a witness, they will know that the message they are hearing is true.
The Holy Ghost can also warn us of physical or spiritual danger. If we listen to the still, small voice we will be protected.
When I was a teenager, I was driving to a friend’s house. I had some passengers in my backseat. It was raining and the night was very dark. As I rounded a corner along an unlit road, I asked my passengers if they saw anything in the road ahead. They answered they did not. Suddenly, I felt the urge to swerve into the oncoming lane. I resisted because I could not see clearly enough to determine that the other lane was free of vehicles. Again, I was urged to swerve into the oncoming lane. I again asked my passengers if they saw anything in the road. A third time I was urged to swerve and decided to listen. Just as I entered the oncoming lane, I could see that a large, dark-colored van was stalled in my lane. Because of the angle of the van, the reflectors were not visible. I barely missed hitting that van. Unfortunately, a vehicle behind me did not have the same warning as I did, and slammed into the van. By the time I reached my friend’s house, I could hear the sirens. I realized that I had been warned by the Holy Ghost to swerve out of the way. I’m certain that had I ignored the prompting one more time, I would have killed all of us in my car.
Now, as I look around the dinner table at all of my children, I realize my purpose was to live that night so that I could provide mortal tabernacles for 10 of Heavenly Father’s spirit children. The Holy Ghost saved my life that night and has since prompted me in various situations. I am so thankful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and for the times he has intervened in my behalf. It truly is a gift to have the influence of the Holy Ghost.
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Showing posts with label 4th Article of Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4th Article of Faith. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Repentance
The second principle of the gospel, according to the 4th Article of Faith, is repentance.
Why is repentance so important?
We all make mistakes and commit sins. If we do not repent of these, we will not be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father because no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God. We must all repent, each and every day. Spencer W. Kimball said, “There is never a day in any man’s life when repentance is not essential to his well-being and eternal progress.”
We may think that unless we commit a serious sin, we do not need repentance. Not true. Most of us will never murder someone, rob a bank, or perjure ourselves in court. Yet, as President Kimball said, we all need to repent.
Why?
Because any sin, small or large, will keep us out of the celestial kingdom.
Obviously, we need to repent when we break the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Chastity, or a temple covenant. But, we also need to repent when we gossip, are impatient with our kids, say something unkind to our spouse, disrespect a parent, fail to fulfill a calling, tell a white lie, keep the extra change from the grocery store, rebel against counsel from a priesthood leader or forget to pray. Each one of us needs the power of the atonement in our lives, even if our sins seem to be small and insignificant.
True repentance follows certain steps. The first step is to recognize that we’ve done something wrong. When I was a kid we didn’t keep the Sabbath Day holy. We went to the beach, swam, shopped, and watched TV. It wasn’t until I got married that I recognized that what I was doing on Sunday was wrong and I needed to repent.
The next step is to feel sorry about what we’ve done. It isn’t enough to just give the mistake a simple nod, but to feel Godly sorrow, to feel so bad that we won’t repeat it again. We should truly regret what we’ve done or said.
Next, we need to confess what we’ve done. Some sins require that we visit with our bishop. For those mistakes or things we do that don’t require a bishop’s interview, we still need to confess to the person we’ve wronged and then confess it to Heavenly Father. Of course, Heavenly Father already knows what we’ve done, but we must still confess it to him
After we’ve confessed the wrong, we must attempt to restore that which we’ve taken or destroyed. If we’ve taken a candy bar from the grocery store we can pay for it. If we’ve said something unkind to someone we can apologize. Some things, though, aren’t so easily replaced. Just as we cannot gather all the feathers blown about by a gust of wind, we can’t recall the words we’ve said when we’ve passed a rumor. It’s impossible to restore virtue and, sometimes, almost as difficult to regain trust, but we must do all in our power to right the wrong.
The last step is to forsake the sin and never do it again. This can be a difficult step, especially if what we’ve been doing is a habit. With the Lord’s help, though, nothing is impossible and he can give us the strength to overcome our weaknesses.
As we seek to repent, we will become closer to our Heavenly Father and we will be motivated to make our lives right before him. This is why repentance is such a fundamental part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Why is repentance so important?
We all make mistakes and commit sins. If we do not repent of these, we will not be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father because no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God. We must all repent, each and every day. Spencer W. Kimball said, “There is never a day in any man’s life when repentance is not essential to his well-being and eternal progress.”
We may think that unless we commit a serious sin, we do not need repentance. Not true. Most of us will never murder someone, rob a bank, or perjure ourselves in court. Yet, as President Kimball said, we all need to repent.
Why?
Because any sin, small or large, will keep us out of the celestial kingdom.
Obviously, we need to repent when we break the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Chastity, or a temple covenant. But, we also need to repent when we gossip, are impatient with our kids, say something unkind to our spouse, disrespect a parent, fail to fulfill a calling, tell a white lie, keep the extra change from the grocery store, rebel against counsel from a priesthood leader or forget to pray. Each one of us needs the power of the atonement in our lives, even if our sins seem to be small and insignificant.
True repentance follows certain steps. The first step is to recognize that we’ve done something wrong. When I was a kid we didn’t keep the Sabbath Day holy. We went to the beach, swam, shopped, and watched TV. It wasn’t until I got married that I recognized that what I was doing on Sunday was wrong and I needed to repent.
The next step is to feel sorry about what we’ve done. It isn’t enough to just give the mistake a simple nod, but to feel Godly sorrow, to feel so bad that we won’t repeat it again. We should truly regret what we’ve done or said.
Next, we need to confess what we’ve done. Some sins require that we visit with our bishop. For those mistakes or things we do that don’t require a bishop’s interview, we still need to confess to the person we’ve wronged and then confess it to Heavenly Father. Of course, Heavenly Father already knows what we’ve done, but we must still confess it to him
After we’ve confessed the wrong, we must attempt to restore that which we’ve taken or destroyed. If we’ve taken a candy bar from the grocery store we can pay for it. If we’ve said something unkind to someone we can apologize. Some things, though, aren’t so easily replaced. Just as we cannot gather all the feathers blown about by a gust of wind, we can’t recall the words we’ve said when we’ve passed a rumor. It’s impossible to restore virtue and, sometimes, almost as difficult to regain trust, but we must do all in our power to right the wrong.
The last step is to forsake the sin and never do it again. This can be a difficult step, especially if what we’ve been doing is a habit. With the Lord’s help, though, nothing is impossible and he can give us the strength to overcome our weaknesses.
As we seek to repent, we will become closer to our Heavenly Father and we will be motivated to make our lives right before him. This is why repentance is such a fundamental part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.
Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.
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Monday, July 28, 2008
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
The 4th Article of Faith states, “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
The most basic, fundamental belief we have is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is what motivates us to do what we do. Faith is what changes us and transforms us.
When I was a young girl, I did not have religion in my life, Yet, I had this simple faith that God was real and he heard my prayers. After my mother died, I used to plead in my prayers that my grandparents would live for a long time so I wouldn’t be left again. Both of my grandparents lived to their mid-late eighties and died long after I was married with my own family. I remember just feeling that if I prayed about something Heavenly Father would hear me.
Over the years, my faith has been tested. One of my daughters was born with an infection. The doctors thought it was meningitis which, at her age, would’ve been fatal. I prayed and prayed for her and it seemed as though whatever I prayed for wasn’t answered. In fact, it seemed like the opposite occurred. I remember feeling completely broken, thinking that for some reason Heavenly Father wasn’t answering my prayers. Yet, at the moment when I most needed a confirmation of my faith, I received it. From this experience I learned I must trust in Heavenly Father and that he knows more than I do. In the end, my daughter was fine and has suffered no ill effects from her infection, but the refining of the experience strengthened my faith and taught me that, sometimes, we do have to have our faith tested.
In order for our faith to grow we must feed it. One of my favorite Primary songs is Faith. In this song we sing about how faith is like a seed. Faith is often compared to a mustard seed, the tiniest of seeds. Yet, when it’s properly fed and nourished it grows into an enormous plant.
We must continually feed and nourish our faith. We do this by attending our meetings, serving in our callings, magnifying those callings, saying our prayers, attending the temple, and doing all in our power to keep the commandments that we understand. Each time we pay our tithing we are exhibiting our faith and it is growing. Every time we do our visiting teaching or home teaching we are showing our faith and allowing it to grow. Sometimes, our faith grows most when our prayers are not answered the way we want them to be answered.
My niece lost her mother, my sister-in-law, to cancer last year. Of course, we all prayed that her mother would be healed, but that didn’t happen. Not long ago, this niece bore such a sweet and strong testimony and I marveled at her incredible faith to endure such a trial.
Faith is the foremost principle of the gospel. When we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, everything else will fall into place.
Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.
Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.
Return to the neighborhood.
The most basic, fundamental belief we have is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is what motivates us to do what we do. Faith is what changes us and transforms us.
When I was a young girl, I did not have religion in my life, Yet, I had this simple faith that God was real and he heard my prayers. After my mother died, I used to plead in my prayers that my grandparents would live for a long time so I wouldn’t be left again. Both of my grandparents lived to their mid-late eighties and died long after I was married with my own family. I remember just feeling that if I prayed about something Heavenly Father would hear me.
Over the years, my faith has been tested. One of my daughters was born with an infection. The doctors thought it was meningitis which, at her age, would’ve been fatal. I prayed and prayed for her and it seemed as though whatever I prayed for wasn’t answered. In fact, it seemed like the opposite occurred. I remember feeling completely broken, thinking that for some reason Heavenly Father wasn’t answering my prayers. Yet, at the moment when I most needed a confirmation of my faith, I received it. From this experience I learned I must trust in Heavenly Father and that he knows more than I do. In the end, my daughter was fine and has suffered no ill effects from her infection, but the refining of the experience strengthened my faith and taught me that, sometimes, we do have to have our faith tested.
In order for our faith to grow we must feed it. One of my favorite Primary songs is Faith. In this song we sing about how faith is like a seed. Faith is often compared to a mustard seed, the tiniest of seeds. Yet, when it’s properly fed and nourished it grows into an enormous plant.
We must continually feed and nourish our faith. We do this by attending our meetings, serving in our callings, magnifying those callings, saying our prayers, attending the temple, and doing all in our power to keep the commandments that we understand. Each time we pay our tithing we are exhibiting our faith and it is growing. Every time we do our visiting teaching or home teaching we are showing our faith and allowing it to grow. Sometimes, our faith grows most when our prayers are not answered the way we want them to be answered.
My niece lost her mother, my sister-in-law, to cancer last year. Of course, we all prayed that her mother would be healed, but that didn’t happen. Not long ago, this niece bore such a sweet and strong testimony and I marveled at her incredible faith to endure such a trial.
Faith is the foremost principle of the gospel. When we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, everything else will fall into place.
Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.
Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.
Return to the neighborhood.
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