In my previous post, I wrote that we usually don’t commit a serious sin without having first invited Satan into our lives one step at a time—just like the camel in the story.
Satan is so subtle and tricky. He knows that if he presents the idea of committing sin all at once we’d see it for what it is and we wouldn’t succumb. He tempts and tantalizes us with seemingly small indiscretions until, sometimes before we even realize it, we are neck deep in transgression.
I know of a primary president and bishop who began sharing rides to leadership meetings. They visited on the way to the meetings and struck up a close friendship. Soon they were confiding in each other and finding reasons to spend time together. Eventually, they both left their families and ran off together. The first step, sharing a ride to leadership meetings seemed innocent enough. After all, they were doing their callings. But, Satan knows how to reach us if we let him. Letting down our guard, even for a moment, can result in disastrous consequences.
How can we smack that camel on the nose and tell him to get the heck out of our tent?
Pray
Prayer is our opportunity to converse with Heavenly Father. We can pour out our hearts, ask for strength to overcome our weaknesses, and listen for his promptings.
We are counseled in the scriptures to always have a prayer in our hearts. If we are consistently praying each day, at least morning and night, we will be sensitive to the Spirit and will be able to hear the still small voice when it warns us of spiritual, or even physical, danger.
Study the Scriptures
We have been blessed with prophets’ words and direct counsel from the Lord in the scriptures. For most of life’s problems, we can find answers in the scriptures. The more we read and study them, the more we’ll rely on them to solve our problems and comfort us through trials. Regular, consistent, daily scripture study will bring us closer to God and strengthen our testimonies.
People who fall away from the gospel usually begin by neglecting their daily prayers and eliminating scripture study. The combination of praying and scripture study will do more to keep us close to the Lord on a daily basis than anything else.
Keep the Commandments
Of course, consistently trying to keep the commandments will keep Satan at bay. It won’t stop his attempts to thwart us on our journey back to Heavenly Father, but it will give us the ability to see his attempts more clearly and the strength to shun his temptations.
Attend the Temple
When we take the time to attend the temple and participate in temple work for the deceased, we are performing a service that is closest to what the Savior has done for us. He took upon him our sins and brought about the atonement because none of us has the power to do that for ourselves. We needed him to be our Savior. It is the same with temple work. Those that have died do not have the ability or power to participate in these saving ordinances, they need someone, a savior, who can do for them what they cannot do for themselves.
The service that we render in the temple combined with the peace that the world cannot duplicate, will give us added strength to turn from Satan and follow the only path that leads to God and eternal happiness.
It may take some strong muscles to smack that camel, but when we’re empowered with prayer, scripture study, keeping the commandments, and temple attendance we’ll flex our spiritual muscles and send that camel flying every time he sticks his nose inside our tent.
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Showing posts with label Temple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Temple. Show all posts
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sharing the Gospel
This last weekend we had our stake conference. It was broadcast on Sunday to stakes in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Saturday night we met with the adults in our own stake.
I was impressed with the woman who spoke first in our Saturday evening session. She said she’d lived in California many years when she and her mother felt prompted to move to a small town, away from the hustle and bustle of a big city. They traveled through Colorado before deciding to settle in a small town in southwestern Colorado.
She and her mother began working for the school district serving lunches. Missionaries happened to stop by and dropped off a Book of Mormon, but neither she nor her mother read it. Through the job with the school district, she met members of the Church. Children invited her to their baptisms and other special events. When she started working for the court system, she worked with members who changed her view of others. She said that those she worked with didn’t see criminals, but rather children of God who made mistakes and needed help.
Her neighbors invited her, and her mother, to church events and befriended them.
Through all of these efforts, she decided to be baptized. The more she studied about her new religion the more she desired to go to the temple. As the year progressed, she started to fear going to the temple because she didn’t know what to expect. She shared how the Relief Society president was persistent, but never pushed her to go to the temple.
After some time passed, she decided to attend the temple. Twenty-two people attended with her. Her neighbors, those she’d worked with, the Relief Society president, and parents of the children who first invited her to go to church. She shared how she felt when she joined these people in the celestial room and the bond that tied them all together.
As I listened to her speak, I couldn’t help but feel the Spirit witness to me the truth of what she was sharing. What a blessing it is to attend the temple. I’ve been privileged to attend with my nephews when they first took out their endowments and when they married in the temple. But, the opportunity I had to attend with my own son before he left for his mission was an experience I won’t soon forget. To stand in the celestial room with him was such an incredibly peaceful and joyous occasion. I was filled with such gratitude for that experience.
Another thing I picked up from this sister’s talk was the involvement of so many people in bringing the gospel to her. Children and adults, not afraid to share the good message of the gospel, opened their mouths and their hearts to serve one of Heavenly Father’s children. Her gratitude to these people for loving her and helping her to find her way back to Heavenly Father was palpable in that room.
We never know what opportunities we may have to share the gospel with our co-workers, neighbors, or even through our internet associations. I’m going to try to be more diligent in sharing the gospel with people in my life in hopes of allowing them to find the same peace and joy I have found through the gospel.
Return to the neighborhood.
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. Welcome to the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world—all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
I was impressed with the woman who spoke first in our Saturday evening session. She said she’d lived in California many years when she and her mother felt prompted to move to a small town, away from the hustle and bustle of a big city. They traveled through Colorado before deciding to settle in a small town in southwestern Colorado.
She and her mother began working for the school district serving lunches. Missionaries happened to stop by and dropped off a Book of Mormon, but neither she nor her mother read it. Through the job with the school district, she met members of the Church. Children invited her to their baptisms and other special events. When she started working for the court system, she worked with members who changed her view of others. She said that those she worked with didn’t see criminals, but rather children of God who made mistakes and needed help.
Her neighbors invited her, and her mother, to church events and befriended them.
Through all of these efforts, she decided to be baptized. The more she studied about her new religion the more she desired to go to the temple. As the year progressed, she started to fear going to the temple because she didn’t know what to expect. She shared how the Relief Society president was persistent, but never pushed her to go to the temple.
After some time passed, she decided to attend the temple. Twenty-two people attended with her. Her neighbors, those she’d worked with, the Relief Society president, and parents of the children who first invited her to go to church. She shared how she felt when she joined these people in the celestial room and the bond that tied them all together.
As I listened to her speak, I couldn’t help but feel the Spirit witness to me the truth of what she was sharing. What a blessing it is to attend the temple. I’ve been privileged to attend with my nephews when they first took out their endowments and when they married in the temple. But, the opportunity I had to attend with my own son before he left for his mission was an experience I won’t soon forget. To stand in the celestial room with him was such an incredibly peaceful and joyous occasion. I was filled with such gratitude for that experience.
Another thing I picked up from this sister’s talk was the involvement of so many people in bringing the gospel to her. Children and adults, not afraid to share the good message of the gospel, opened their mouths and their hearts to serve one of Heavenly Father’s children. Her gratitude to these people for loving her and helping her to find her way back to Heavenly Father was palpable in that room.
We never know what opportunities we may have to share the gospel with our co-workers, neighbors, or even through our internet associations. I’m going to try to be more diligent in sharing the gospel with people in my life in hopes of allowing them to find the same peace and joy I have found through the gospel.
Return to the neighborhood.
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. Welcome to the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world—all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Missionary Opportunities for Couples
"Along with the need for young elders and sisters, there is a growing need for couples in the mission field. Older married couples are doing a wonderful work in the missions. Many more are needed. . . . With an increasing number of people retiring while they are still possessed of health and vitality, there are many who can fill a tremendous need in the work of the Lord."
President Gordon B. Hinckley
The Church is in need of couple missionaries. While the minimum age for serving a mission as a couple is 40, there is no maximum age as long as both the husband and the wife are in good health and can financially afford a mission. Many couples in their seventies are successfully serving missions. Couples who desire to serve missions may not have any dependent children at home and are not allowed to bring pets. If a couple has the responsibility to care for aging parents, they will need to make arrangements for the care of their parents while they are away.
Couples may serve missions in the following areas: Leadership, Temple, Family History, or Other Specialized Missions.
Leadership Missions include proselyting missions where they are involved in tracting and teaching people the gospel. It may also include working in the mission office or in a visitors center. Some couples may also serve medical missions where they help attend to the medical needs in an area.
Temple Missions include serving as ordinance workers. We have couples in our ward that serve in the temple each week as ordinance workers. They live at home, but since the travel time to the temple is 2 hours, most of the couples spend a night in a local hotel so they can serve the next day without traveling. We have a couple on our extended family that actually splits time between two different locations so they can serve in the temple for a few days and then spend the rest of the week attending to business and family duties.
Family History Missions may include serving in the Salt Lake City Genealogical Library helping patrons locate their genealogy, or couples may be involved in microfilming, preparing documents, or assisting in family history centers around the world. A member of my ward shared an experience last week of trying to translate some records from Italian and trying to decipher the handwriting.
Other Specialized Missions may include working with the Church Education System helping to set up Seminary and Institute programs, farm and agricultural help, public affairs, humanitarian services, or managing facilities. A bulletin is distributed regularly that calls for help in specialized areas and gives the requirements necessary for service in these areas.
Unlike young, single missionaries, couple missionaries can choose the amount of time they wish to serve. Couples usually serve 12, 18, or 23 months.
While it can be a difficult choice to leave family behind, the Lord needs couples to serve missions. My husband and I both hope to serve a mission together. It may be many years down the road (we’ll have dependent children for a long time) but we’re hopeful that with careful financial planning we’ll be able to serve.
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.
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President Gordon B. Hinckley
The Church is in need of couple missionaries. While the minimum age for serving a mission as a couple is 40, there is no maximum age as long as both the husband and the wife are in good health and can financially afford a mission. Many couples in their seventies are successfully serving missions. Couples who desire to serve missions may not have any dependent children at home and are not allowed to bring pets. If a couple has the responsibility to care for aging parents, they will need to make arrangements for the care of their parents while they are away.
Couples may serve missions in the following areas: Leadership, Temple, Family History, or Other Specialized Missions.
Leadership Missions include proselyting missions where they are involved in tracting and teaching people the gospel. It may also include working in the mission office or in a visitors center. Some couples may also serve medical missions where they help attend to the medical needs in an area.
Temple Missions include serving as ordinance workers. We have couples in our ward that serve in the temple each week as ordinance workers. They live at home, but since the travel time to the temple is 2 hours, most of the couples spend a night in a local hotel so they can serve the next day without traveling. We have a couple on our extended family that actually splits time between two different locations so they can serve in the temple for a few days and then spend the rest of the week attending to business and family duties.
Family History Missions may include serving in the Salt Lake City Genealogical Library helping patrons locate their genealogy, or couples may be involved in microfilming, preparing documents, or assisting in family history centers around the world. A member of my ward shared an experience last week of trying to translate some records from Italian and trying to decipher the handwriting.
Other Specialized Missions may include working with the Church Education System helping to set up Seminary and Institute programs, farm and agricultural help, public affairs, humanitarian services, or managing facilities. A bulletin is distributed regularly that calls for help in specialized areas and gives the requirements necessary for service in these areas.
Unlike young, single missionaries, couple missionaries can choose the amount of time they wish to serve. Couples usually serve 12, 18, or 23 months.
While it can be a difficult choice to leave family behind, the Lord needs couples to serve missions. My husband and I both hope to serve a mission together. It may be many years down the road (we’ll have dependent children for a long time) but we’re hopeful that with careful financial planning we’ll be able to serve.
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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