Good Advice

Today's scripture mastery give a lot of very good advice--and again, if we choose to follow these commandments, we will be blessed. 

Today's scripture mastery is found in Doctrine and Covenants 88:123-124

 123 See that ye love one another; cease to be covetous; learn to impart one to another as the gospel requires.

 124 Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.

I know that these are not always easy commandments to follow.  I often struggle with them.  But I have seen that when I am following these commandments, I do see the blessings of God in my life.  When I love others, and am not coveting the blessings and things that others have, it is much easier for me to share my many blessings with those around me--which blesses not only those with whom I am sharing, but I also feel a great happiness and joy when I do.

When I keep myself busy doing good things,  I find it much easier to be clean in my thoughts and actions.  And when I do that--I am a much happier person.  When I get the proper amount of sleep, I do find that I function much better throughout the day.  Too much or too little, and I am still groggy. 

As for getting up early.  I have found that some of the best time to read my scriptures and meditate on the words of Christ.  I have also found that it has been during some early morning pondering that I have had some of my best insights to problems that I have been facing at that time in my life.  I also find that my body is invigorated--I have more energy for the day than I do if I sleep in.

Give each of these commandments a try.  When you do, you will also see the blessings of God that comes from each of them.

The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood

Today's scripture mastery is a well known one in the church.  It is the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood.  It can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 84:33-39

 33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

 34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.

 35 And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;

 36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;

 37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;

 38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

 39 And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

There are a lot of promises there for those who magnify the priesthood. . .And remember that God always keeps his promises!  So. . .what does it mean to magnify their calling in the priesthood?  There is a long list of scriptures giving examples of magnifying the priesthood.  This list can be found in the Topical Guide, under the heading "Priesthood, Magnifying Callings within."  You will note that none of those verses describe someone acting selfishly.  To truly magnify the priesthood, one must follow the example of the Savior.  One must do as He did--i.e. he must serve others, and always seek to do God's will.  He must share the gospel, and work to build the Kingdom of God on the earth.

Also, please note, that while these verses are directed towards the men of the church, they in no way exclude the women.  The same promises are extended to any woman who act as the Savior would.  Any woman who serves others, who seeks to build the Kingdom of God, or who relieves the suffering of those who are suffering--indeed, anybody, man or woman, who obtains a true understanding of charity (also known as the True Love of Christ) will be a recipient of all the blessings promised in these verses.  If we obtain the qualities that Paul talked about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8,13, we will be able to receive those blessings promised in the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood:

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

You can trust the Lord

How many times in your life have you been let down by somebody?  I know that probably all of us have, at one time or another, been let down by someone that promised us something and then they didn't follow through (I know that I have been on the other end many times as well--I have let others down by not keeping my word)

We can trust the Lord 100%--even when we can not count on others to be completely trustworthy.  Today's scripture mastery emphasises that point--it is found in Doctrine and Covenants 82:10:

 10 I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.

There are many scriptures that teach us that God always does what He says that He will.  It may not always be in the way that we expect, nor is it always on our timetable--but what the Lord says He will do, He does.

Here is another scripture that brings out that point.  It is found in Doctrine and Covenants 1:38.  It states:

 38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

We can count on the Lord to always keep His promises.  However, many of the promised blessings are conditional on the second part of today's scripture mastery.  Note that verse 10 says "when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."  We must keep the commandments of God to be able to claim the blessings that He offers to all of us.  We must repent of our sins.  We must put our trust in the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ.  We must keep His commandments.  If we do those things--all the blessings that the Lord has promised in the scriptures can be ours!

I will finish today by quoting a scripture from the New Testament.  It is found in John 16:33:

 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Though this life is not easy, and we face many trials while here, we have been promised peace in Christ--even through the all the chaos that the world may throw at us.

Responsibility

Today's scripture mastery tells us of the responsibility that comes with the knowledge of the gospel.  It is found in Doctrine and Covenants 82:3:

 3 For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.

Along with the marvelous blessings of the gospel comes a great responsibility.  The responsibility is to keep those commandments--and to share the gospel with those around us.  We are to teach our families the gospel, and help them to live it (not by force, but out of love and persuasion).  An example of that responsibility can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 68:25, which says:

 25 And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.

It would be easy to say to ourselves that "I don't want that greater responsibility--so I will avoid learning about the gospel"  There is danger in that as well.  See what the Lord says about those who are slothful (Doctrine and Covenants 58:29)

 29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.

It is much better to seek out the blessings of God, and live the commandments (and accept the additional responsibility) than it is to be lazy in the gospel, and avoid learning new things, and sharing the good news of the gospel with others.  The Lord tells us to "Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Doctrine and Covenants 4:7)

The reality of Christ

There are many who don't believe in Christ--or many who just believe that he was a great teacher, but was not divine.  However, in our church, we have the knowledge that Christ is what he said he is--the Son of God.  We know that he did what the scriptures say he did.  He is our Redeemer, he is our King.  We know that he died to pay for our sins on the cross, and that he was physically resurrected 3 days later.  He lives now--he knows us, and loves us, and wants us to be happy.

Today's scripture mastery, found in Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24 is the powerful testimony of Joseph Smith, and Sidney Rigdon regarding the reality of Christ:

 22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

 23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—

 24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.

There are many witnesses of Christ who live on the earth now.  We do not need to rely only on the written word recorded thousands of years ago by ancient prophets about Christ (though their testimony is still valid)  These witnesses today of Christ are also known prophets and apostles.  One of their primary roles is to witness to the world of the reality and existence of the Savior.  These men are just that--men.  They come from all walks of life, and while they are not perfect, they do witness of the one person who ever lived that was/is perfect, Jesus of Nazareth.  There are biographies of each of these 15 men who travel around the world testifying of Christ.  You can read biographies of them, and read about some of the work they do at this url: http://www.lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/what-are-prophets?lang=eng. These apostles and prophets have written a letter to the entire world, entitled "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles"  Read that letter, and you will have no doubt that they really do testify of the reality of Christ.

The promise of tithing

Sometimes, members of our church jokingly call tithing "fire insurance."  The reason they do is today's scripture mastery, Doctrine and Covenants 64:23:

 23 Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.

How is tithing like fire insurance?  Well, we have the promise of Christ that if we pay our tithing, we will not be burned at Christ's second coming.  I believe that one of the reasons for that is that it takes faith (sometimes a LOT of faith) to pay tithing.  Faith (along with repentance) is one of the requirements that we must have in order to return to God's presence after we finish our life here on earth.

We do not need to suffer though here and now if we pay our tithing however.  I have mentioned in a previous post that we are blessed more than we have room to receive the blessings (Malachi 3:10-11) if we faithfully pay our tithing.  I know that is true, as I have often been the recipient of those blessings recieved from paying tithing in my life.  I know that God always keeps his promises.  Take that leap of faith, and pay your tithing--you will be glad you did!

Forgiveness

Today's scripture mastery is, to me, one of the most powerful scriptures I know of.  It is very profound, and not always easy to follow--but essential for us to do anyways. . .

Today's scripture mastery is found in Doctrine and Covenants 64:9-11

 9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.

 10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.

 11 And ye ought to say in your hearts—let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.

Because we are not perfect, and we ALL make mistakes, it is vital that we forgive others.  That is not always an easy thing to do--in fact, we learn from the world that we should do the exact opposite of what the Lord wants us to do.  We learn that whatever offense we have received, we must seek revenge, and make the one who offended and hurt us pay.  That is a false doctrine that only brings more pain and misery in this world. . .Don't succumb to those false teachings.

It is much better to follow the example of Christ.  He taught about this very subject in Matthew 5:38-48:

 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

One of the teachings of the gospel that makes this much easier to do is to remember that this life is not all there is. . .Sometimes those that hurt or offend us will seem to not have any consequences in this life.  However, they will be judged by Christ, and all will be made right.  (We will all be judged by Christ--we must all remember that)   If we fail to forgive others, we will be judged harshly as well. 

Besides all that, if we forgive others, we will have a huge burden lifted from us, and life will be much easier to bear.  The burden of holding a grudge is one of those burdens that Christ asks us to cast on him.  He does make our burdens much lighter when we cast our burdens on Him.

Forgive, and be happy here in this life, as well as in the life to come!