General Conference - An Epiphany

This last Sunday was the LDS General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I love this weekend that I get to relax and watch and listen to the words of the leaders of our church.  This time, I did something I've never done before - I wrote down questions that I needed answers to before Conference started.  My questions were:

How can I best help and support my missionaries?
What do I need to do to get Matthew ready for a mission?
What should Grant do about grad school, and how can I help him make his decision?
What does Heavenly Father want me to do with my business?
How do I help people - how do I find people to help?

In the very first talk my answer came, and it was reiterated with almost every talk that followed.  Of course, the answer is a no-brainer, and something that I already knew.  I just needed a gentle reminder.  Here was my answer - straight from Pres. Packer's heart to mine:

Live up to the ordinary acts of obedience required of the followers of Christ.

I've been remiss lately in remembering my prayers - not that I don't pray.  I do.  All day long.  But, to actually kneel down, and pour out my heart to my Heavenly Father... that is something that I need to work on.  Studying my scriptures is another thing I know I need to become better at.  I remember well that wonderful, spiritual time when I was a seminary teacher - feeling the spirit 24/7 as I studied and prayed about each lesson.  I would love to recapture that.  Those 2 things alone, will help me so much... I'm sure of it.  How can I expect or hope for answers to my prayers, or protection for me and my family if I don't do even the simple things required of the Lord?

So, this week, I've started to try to focus first thing on my companionship with the Lord.  I realize that if I put the most important things first in my day - things like scripture study - I'm setting myself up for personal revelation all day long.  I know, too, that if I ask for specific things in my prayers, I will receive specific instruction.  I'm just starting out, and haven't done it perfectly yet, but I know that this will work.  Why?  Because I know Heavenly Father WANTS to bless me.  He wants to guide me.  I just have to be receptive to that.

An interesting thing has happened this week.  As I've prayed about who I can help with my health program, asking specifically for Heavenly Father to send me people... in just the last 2 days, I've had 3 people come to me and ask about it.  It might sound weird, but I believe that they are being led to me.  I have something they need.  It will make their lives better.

I love these words from D. Todd Christofferson:  As disciples of Christ, we must care for others and relieve their sufferings.  And that is my desire for my business.

So... obedience is the way to prosper - I'm certain of it.  It's the way to bless others, too.  President Monson said:  The happiness, peace, progress, prosperity, and salvation of the Latter-Day Saints lies in their obedience.

So, there you have it... obey, and you'll be blessed.  Obey, and you'll bless others.  That was the answer to my questions - do the things the Lord requires of you FIRST, and then He'll pour out His blessings upon you and your family.  You'll know what to do, when to do it, and who to bless, and how.

President Monson: Are you willing to obey?  The answers we seek and the knowledge for which we yearn can be ours IF we keep the commandments.

New Year's Resolution - Discipleship

It's New Year's Day 2012 - I think I'm like most other people... wanting to make a new start, improve myself, etc. Usually I make a list of resolutions at the beginning of the year... and then that lasts for a few weeks or, if I'm really diligent, a few months. In fact, I believe the only resolution I've ever kept completely is the one I made 2 years ago - to stop drinking soda. Alex and Matthew made the same goal. For me it was because I knew I shouldn't be throwing back that much sugar (I hate diet drinks), Alex was in training for football and soda is a no-no, and Matthew probably just wanted in on the action. We challenged each other. It was like a competition, and none of us would back down. We made it to the end of the year, and we kept going. What a great feeling to have accomplished that.

This year, as I thought about all of the changes I need to make, it became overwhelming! That's right... NEWS FLASH... I'm not perfect. Usually my list is pretty long. One year, I even made a goal in each area of my life - physical, mental, social, emotional, spiritual - you get the idea. This year, I've decided that I want to succeed, so I'm making only one goal - I figure anyone (even me) can do one thing really well for a year! As I looked at all of those areas of my life, I decided that the spiritual part of me needs work. BIG time. So, I'm going with Getting Closer To Christ. One person I know picks one word that will describe her year. This year her word is Discipleship. I like that. So, my year will be all about Discipleship. I'm planning to use some of the following to help with my goal...

1. A daily thought from the Book of Mormon. There is a small book, available at Deseret Book and Seagull Book, called "When Ye Shall Receive These Things - Daily Reflections On The Book of Mormon" by Lloyd D. Newell and Robert L. Millet. It has a thought for each day of the year. Once I've read the thought, I'll try to post about it on facebook. Which leads to my second item...

2. Using the internet as a tool of Discipleship. I really enjoy it when my friends share quotes from the prophets on facebook. I'm on the internet all the time... I've got blogs (which I don't update often enough), twitter, facebook, email, etc. Plenty of opportunities there! M. Russell Ballard, in a commencement address at BYU-Hawaii in 2007, said this...

"This is the world of the future, with inventions undreamed of that will come in your lifetime as they have in mine. How will you use these marvelous inventions? More to the point, how will you use them to further the work of the Lord?"

I'm going to try to join the conversation about the church on the internet, and use this amazing missionary tool!

3. I got a book several months ago, called "21 Days Closer To Christ", by Emily Freeman, promising myself that I would use it. I did - for one week. It's such an incredible book! I'd like to use it this year, only instead of using each "day", or chapter, daily, I'll be using it weekly. I just want a little bit longer to focus on each chapter.

4. A few months ago, I read a quote from D. Todd Christopherson that said:

"Obtain a new, inexpensive copy of the Book of Mormon, and mark all of the verses that refer to, or teach about, the Savior, His ministry, and His mission. This brings both a deeper witness of Jesus as the Son of God and a fresh appreciation of what He has done and continues to do for us."

I've already got a copy of the Book of Mormon with a blue cover - an inexpensive one - and I've written that quote on the inside cover. I'm excited to try this different way of recognizing Christ in the scriptures.

5. I've never been good at journaling, but at some point last year, I started to keep track of the insights I gain while studying the scriptures. I'll try to continue doing this. Because I was looking specifically for new insights, I found quite a few.

I'm sure there are many more tools that I can, and will, use to become a better disciple of Christ this year. Hopefully, by the end of the year, if I've put in the effort (and I don't forget all about this resolution in 2 months), I'll be more in tune with the Spirit, and much closer to my best friend - Jesus Christ.

Good luck with your new year resolutions!