I know that before we came to Earth, our Heavenly Father developed a Plan of Salvation for us. A vital piece of that plan is agency. There was a war in heaven because of it, and Lucifer and a third part of the hosts of heaven were cast out as a result. Satan wanted to take that agency from us, but our Father knows its importance. Because we have agency, we can make choices, and inevitably, some of those choices will be wrong. We will sin. I know that I sin more often than I would like, but we also can make good choices. Choices that will allow us to be cleansed from that sin by being baptized and partaking of the sacrament. We can choose to follow Him, and return to our heavenly home; this is His plan of Happiness. I know that our Heavenly Father does not leave us alone when we are faced with temptation. He sends us guidance, comfort, and his hands play an active role in shaping and guiding us to become who He needs us to be.
"Our Father’s plan for our happiness and our salvation is shared by our missionaries throughout the world. Not all who hear this divine message accept and embrace it. However, men and women everywhere… recognize its truths, and they plant their feet on the path that will lead them safely home. Their lives are forever changed.”
"Overcoming the world is not a global invasion but a private, personal battle, requiring hand-to-hand combat with our own internal foes."
"Our Father in Heaven’s love for us, His children, surpasses by far our ability to comprehend. Does this mean that God condones or overlooks behaviors that run contrary to His commands? No, definitely not! But He wants to change more than just our behaviors. He wants to change our very natures. He wants to change our hearts. He wants us to reach out and take firm hold of the iron rod, confront our fears, and bravely step forward and upward along the strait and narrow path. He wants this for us because He loves us and because this is the way to happiness."
"God motivates through persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned. God is on our side. He loves us, and when we stumble, He wants us to rise up, try again, and become stronger. He is our mentor. He is our great and cherished hope. He desires to stimulate us with faith. He trusts us to learn from our missteps and make correct choices."
"Our choosing the right consistently whenever the choice is placed before us creates the solid ground under our faith. It can begin in childhood since every soul is born with the free gift of the Spirit of Christ. With that Spirit, we can know when we have done what is right before God and when we have done wrong in His sight."
"If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing. In all conditions, we can choose the right with the guidance of the Spirit. We have the gospel of Jesus Christ to shape and guide our lives if we choose it. And with prophets revealing to us our place in the plan of salvation, we can live with perfect hope and a feeling of peace. We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord’s service because we never are."
“My dear brothers and sisters, we live in a most difficult dispensation. Challenges, controversies, and complexities swirl around us. These turbulent times were foreseen by the Savior. He warned us that in our day the adversary would stir up anger in the hearts of men and lead them astray. Yet our Heavenly Father never intended that we would deal with the maze of personal problems and social issues on our own.”
“We choose to have faith in Him and follow Him. True disciples of Jesus Christ are willing to stand out, speak up, and be different from the people of the world. They are undaunted, devoted, and courageous.”
“The Savior promised that the Comforter will teach us all things, bring all things to our remembrance, and guide us into all truth (see John 14:26; 16:13). Thus, the Holy Ghost helps us discern between truth and falsehood, guides us in our major decisions, and helps us through the challenges of mortality.”
“Let us remember that desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. In addition, it is our actions and our desires that cause us to become something, whether a true friend, a gifted teacher, or one who has qualified for eternal life.”
No comments:
Post a Comment