It All Starts With Us

As children of our Heavenly Father, we have certain expectations of us that are very important for us to accomplish. Our Armor of God can help us with that, but even before we put on our Armor of God to defend ourselves, it all starts with us: who we are, what we're about, and what our values are (both when we're around others and alone). The Armor of God can do nothing if we ourselves are not worthy to be wearing it.

Cloud 9

Like many of the questions we have as people here on earth (like why are we here, where did we come from, where are we going, etc.) I ask you, how do we get to a "Cloud 9" state of happiness? This is every person's search in life. How do we get there? Well, that's what this blog is for. This blog teaches us how to be happy. Keeping our Whole Armor Of God on ourselves is a big part of how to be happy. Let me give you a few examples.

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.

Why Commandments???

Some may wonder why Mormons do the things we do, or in some cases, don't do the things we don't do. These are called commandments. Any commandment we read out of the scriptures are from the Lord himself. In the Book of Mormon, we learn that Nephi said, "...I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." So basically, the Lord won't give us any commandments that he knows we can't follow. That's comforting to know because that means the commandments we have are not impossible.

Many people outside of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that membership in this church requires strict adherence to many "rules" that don't allow us to do much of anything. Many think we are forced to obey these rules. I am here to testify that there's more than meets the eye when it comes to obeying and keeping the commandments that we follow.

Your "Some Day" Will Come

Something that has been on my mind recently is that people can be so miserable all around us and they don't quite know how to solve it. We all go through trials throughout our lives that will weigh us down, tear us up, and damage our spirituality. Tough as it may be to see, these trials can always be for our good. Looking at these trials in a beneficial way is how you can overcome all trials, both current and future.

God gives no commandment unto us, His children, that he knows we can't accomplish. As we do these commandments, He promises us that He "doth immediately bless you" for keeping His commandments (Mosiah 2:24). Though you may not see it right away, God's promises are absolute and true. Do you want to be happy? Do you want to be blessed? Obey the commandments.

Service is a special opportunity to uplift one another, including yourself. Scientists have researched the impact of service on the human brain. They found that those who do the service find themselves to be happier than those who have received the service. I know (because I have experienced it) that the evidence that those scientists have found is true. I know that by doing service, you will focus less on yourself, be happier overall, and fulfill the promise that "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).

Another thing you can do is pray. Prayer is the way you can communicate with our Heavenly Father. He is going to listen to you no matter your situation or even where you are. He will always be there to listen. As you pray, you can pray for the peace to get through any trial. Christ said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). Praying specifically for peace, and having the faith to receive it, will let you feel of that peace.

Though there may be many more things that can be done to come out of our trials with an uplifted spirit, we can always know that we are the children of a loving Heavenly Father. An Apostle of the Lord, Deiter F. Uchtdorf, said, "He loves us with an infinite love. He wants the best for you." As soon as you really learn and realize this, you can start to feel of His love in your everyday life. I bear witness of this and I know it to be true. I know because I have lived it. I invite all of you to live in His love, and I know he will bless you tremendously.