War Of Temptations

There are many who will be reading this that have the problems of giving in to temptations. I want to preface this by saying that we have all been subject to temptations. Even Jesus Christ was put through some temptations. I feel I must say that without these temptations, there would've been very little point to coming to this earth to learn, because without temptations, it can be very hard for us to learn. There must be opposition to all things, from the yearnings of the Lord to do righteous works, to the temptations that so easily beset us from Satan. I take some of my sayings from prophets and apostles of the past and present, and hope that something I say will help put into perspective the way we all feel about these things and about how we can overcome them. I also don't say these things as a hypocrite, but as someone who has been through many temptations of all kinds, and have given in to some of them myself. I understand much about what is said below, which is why I feel so inclined to write these things.

How To Receive Blessings: 101

Occasionally, people will ask me how to receive the blessings of the Lord, and how we know about the blessings that are there. I answered as plain and simple as I could, hoping that it would answer their questions. Well, in a recent Zone Conference we had, Sister Gardner, our Mission President's wife, told us a story/poem that will hopefully get the message through clearer. It goes something like this:

The Football Field

Football is one of America's favorite sports, so for all you sports fans, this one is for you. I want to answer the question of why we sometimes don't receive answers to prayer. There are times in our lives when we feel as though we really need Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in our lives, more than usual. This happens to everyone at some point. When we ask for those things that we think we need, and then don't get an answer, we get discouraged. Hopefully, this will help answer and resolve that concern.

Imagine you are on a football field in the middle of a stadium. There is nobody in the stands and no distractions or loud noises. You are in one end-zone and Heavenly Father is in the other end-zone. When you shout to Him the concern or question you have, He answers in a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12). Since you are on the other side of the field, you can't hear Him, and from the distance, it looks like He's not doing anything. As you continue to shout at Him these questions, you still can't hear anything, which causes you to get upset. This is really bothering you. You deserve an answer about these things. The only answer to this dilemma, is to get closer to Him, so you can hear what He has to say.

In order to get closer to Heavenly Father, we have to start living as He would want us to live. Here are a few examples: if we aren't reading our scriptures, read; if we aren't saying our prayers as faithfully as we know we should, pray; if we are angry at something or someone, forgive; etc. We have to start living Christlike lives. Here are some Christlike attributes that we need to live so we can get closer to Heavenly Father, here on this football field of life: have faith in Jesus Christ and in having your prayers answered, have hope that this will all come out fine in the end, have charity and love for your fellow man and for God, be virtuous in all your thoughts and deeds, study out your answer and gain knowledge you need, be patient, be humble enough to receive any answer, even if it's not the answer you may want, be diligent in asking and in doing all these things, and last, but not least, be obedient to Heavenly Father's commandments (He has more than just ten of them). As you do these things, it will get you closer and closer to Heavenly Father, so that when He does speak in that still small voice, you can hear Him more clearly than you have ever heard Him before.

Unfortunately, there are always going to be other influences around us, who are going to try to confuse us. At the beginning of this parable, I mentioned that you were alone in this stadium. That was to demonstrate what we need to focus on. Now that we have our focus, let's fill in those empty seats. This represents every influence around us. There are people in the crowd who are going to cheer for you, telling you to move forward and to not give up, and there are people in the crowd who are going to be jeering at you, making you feel like there is no hope, telling you that you will never make it to the other side of the field. Never fall into that trap.

I want to make you this promise: as you start living a more Christlike life, you will start to be guided by the Holy Ghost and will be more sensitive to His promptings. As you do good, your want to do good will multiply, and it won't matter how many times people jeer at you, you will have a straight and sure course, straight into Heavenly Father and your answer.