Faith and The Power of Choice

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This morning I was reading the story of Enos, who goes out in the wilderness and thinks about the things his father had taught him about Christ.  As he pondered he decided he really, really wanted to know God, and to be pure before Him.  So he prayed, and prayed, and prayed -- for hours and hours.  He did not give up.  He poured out his whole soul to God.  He told God everything.  And finally Enos hears God's voice telling him he's forgiven and will be blessed and He knows God doesn't lie.  Then Enos asks an important question.  "Lord, how it is done?"  How is he forgiven?  Enos is told that it is "Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen."  He is told that "Thy faith hath made thee whole"  (Enos vs. 8)

This line struck me differently this morning than it has before.  It doesn't say Enos is made whole through Christ's Atonement, which would be true.  It says it is because of Enos' faith in Christ.  Enos chose to believe in Christ.  God gave us agency, but I think we don't often realize what power there is in agency.  If we read the scriptures we can read about God's love for us, but we have to choose to believe it.  He will not make us believe it.  He will send us tender mercies, but He won't make us recognize them as tender mercies.  He can point out that His voice speaks truth, and that we should believe His voice above anyone else, but He will not make us believe that voice.  He will tell us He listens to us, but we actually have to choose to believe He does.

We are told that miracles come after faith.  After we choose to believe God's love for us, we can have the miracle of beginning to see it.  If we choose to believe He sends us tender mercies every day, and we look for them, the little miracles in our days will become more evident.  We can read His words that guide our life, but until we choose to believe them above anyone else, and to find our answers in them, we will not have the miracle of courage that we need to act on those things.  We can pray, and feel like our prayers hit the ceiling and bounce back at us and still choose to believe that He is listening, and that He hears.  We can pray with our prayers feeling that way for a long time, but I know from experience that if we do not give up, in time He will provide the miracle that lets us knows He hears.

When we choose to have faith in Christ, who we have not seen or heard, then like Enos we will eventually understand that it is our faith in Christ that made us whole.

***Picture by Robert T. Barrett used by permission from churchofjesuschrist.org

Giving God Control

I read somewhere that we should give control of our lives to God, and so I was contemplating what that means and what it looks like.  It's not a big shock to me or anyone else that He's smarter, wiser, and more knowledgeable than everyone on the planet, so it makes sense to give control to Him.  I also know that giving Him control does NOT look like me sitting around waiting for Him to decide what I should wear, tell me exactly how to help everyone, and take away my problems!

God gave me the ability to choose, and He wants me to use it.  I believe that giving control to Him means that I use my will to choose Him, and His way. I trust Him in all circumstances.  I believe Him and His word and that keeping the commandments is the happy way to live.  I use my agency to think, do, and say things that honor Him.  I take time to listen for His guidance, and to follow it.  When I make mistakes, and sin, giving control to God is repenting -- letting Him heal me.

In short, giving control to God simply means that I use the agency He gave me to choose to give up what I think is best, to do what He knows is best.  Elder Maxwell's quote is a good summation:

In striving for ultimate submission, our wills constitute all we really have to give God anyway.

Neal A. Maxwell

From a Little Seed

Every year when I plant a garden, I am amazed at what a big plant can come from one tiny little seed.  The seed needs dirt, water, and sunlight and to not be allowed to be choked out by weeds, and then it grows into the same kind of plant it came from -- creating more seeds to grow more plants from!  It really is miraculous.

We are miraculous too.  We can be the seeds.  The dirt can be our environment --which can be good, bad, or in between.  Water can represent our physical needs.  If we don't take care of ourselves, we shrivel faster!  If we do take care of ourselves, we grow stronger (unless attacked by diseases and pests!).  Sunlight is what we need from God.  It is His love, and knowledge and what keeps our spirits growing and improving.  He's the gardener that is there to help fix things when we mess them up. Weeds can be the things that sneak into our environment.  They are sins, and distractions.  They can grow so big that they keep us from the sun, and they drink all of the water.

No analogy is perfect.  But just look at how much of our growth we have a choice about! We can choose to make our environments better, or can get lax and let destructive things in.  We can take care of ourselves, or not, which can really help or hinder our growth in all areas.  We can choose to repent, and allow God into our lives fully, or we can believe that those "weeds" won't really make that big of a difference.  We have a choice in so many things!  We may not have a choice about which diseases or pests come our way, but we do have a choice of how we will deal with them, and whether we will turn towards God or away from Him because of them.

I hope to grow into the kind of "plant" that will make the Gardener happy.  The kind who reaches for The Son, appreciates the rain, and doesn't allow the weeds to thrive!  The kind of plant who doesn't let diseases and pests keep me from hope, and light.  Then, before winter comes, the little seed that is me, can become something truly miraculous.

Loving Each Other On The Road To Perfection

I believe that we are all on the road to perfection.  Sometimes we are going forward, and sometimes maybe backwards, and some people may not recognize which road they are on, but we are all on the road to perfection. 

If I feel like I am farther down the road than most people, I might actually ruin my progress by not listening to counsel and by not realizing there is more to learn.  Then I make it worse by looking down at those who haven't reached my more exalted state!

I have, on occasion,found myself feeling like I was farther down the road to perfection in some area, and looking down at others who weren't as awesome as me in that area.  How foolish!  There are so many areas to perfect, who is to say I'm actually farther down the road -- especially because we can't really see the end of it?

 I have found that often the very people I was feeling superior to were loving, caring people who do all they can to lift those around them.  We are all on this road, and none of us are ever going to get anywhere near perfection without Jesus, and He loves everyone, even those who may not be doing as good of a job as we are in any given area.

I am responsible to make the best choices I know how make for me, to teach my children to make the best choices they can for them, and I am responsible for loving everyone no matter what choices they choose to make for themselves as they travel the road to perfection.