My Spiritual thoughts

What does it mean to “Trust in the Lord” or to “Have Faith in the Lord?” It seems from my personal experience and study, that DOUBT and FEAR are some of the main eroding factors and poisons to our Faith. Consider the two scriptural accounts when the Lord told His New Testament disciples, “O, ye of little faith.”  In one account He used this statement when He was asleep on the boat during the storm (can you imagine how exhausted, yet at complete peace the Savior must have been?) and His disciples came to Him in a panic and fear of sinking.  They pleaded for Him to save them, to which He arose, calmed the sea, and then referred to them as “ye of little faith.”  The second account was when Peter, in great faith, went walking on the water towards the Lord, but then began to look around and sink.  Crying out to the Lord to save Him, the Savior did so, and then said, “thou of little faith.” I think the disciples were actually very faithful in both of these circumstances....

My friend gave a wonderful talk today in church and I absolutely loved this parable.  I found it to be very profound and wanted to share.  A wealthy father knew that if he were to bestow his wealth upon a child who had not yet developed the needed wisdom and stature, the inheritance would probably be wasted.  The father said to his child: “All that I have I desire to give you—not only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours.” This parable parallels the pattern of heaven. The gospel of Jesus Christ promises the incomparable inheritance of eternal life, the fulness of the F...

My husband and I were having a wonderful, in-depth discussion on the scriptures and Christ on the phone this afternoon. Among many things, one of the things he brought up was the conversation Christ had with Peter in John 21:15-17.  15 ¶ So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. So much meaning in these scriptures ( like many). However what I found in these is the answer Peter ga...

Can you imagine the wonder and awe, the splendor and the Glory, of that moment when God the Father and His Beloved Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove! To have them call Joseph by name, forgive his sins, and answer his deepest questions. (see Joseph Smith History in the Pearl of Great Price) Or what about the marvelous and miraculous moment when the ancient apostles saw Jesus walking to them on the water in the midst of a storm, and the amazement Peter must have felt when Christ bid him to come to Him upon the water, and he actually took those incredible first steps… on top of the water… without sinking! (See Mark, and Matthew 14:25-31) Or what of the ancient inhabitants of America when, wonder of all wonders, they heard the voice of God the Father from heaven announcing Jesus Christ as His Beloved Son, and saw the Resurrected and glorified Lord descending in glory from heaven into their midst, and then heard His call to individually come unto Him and experien...

I am sure that each of us is heartbroken to some degree to have family, friends or loved ones who have become estranged to us. Bridges have been burned, and hearts have been broken, and chasms of separation seem to now lay between us. Perhaps they are siblings, children, grandchildren or dear friends. From our limited mortal perspective our faith can waiver and we might wonder how or if ever such relationships could ever be restored. Such is the miracle of faith and the keeping of covenants with God, who through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ can perform miracles! Consider the Old Testament stories of Jacob and his brother Esau who wanted to kill him, or perhaps that of Joseph and his brothers who desired to slay him, but instead sold him away into slavery. How could such divisions be mended? How could hearts so hardened to the point there were intent on shedding blood be softened and turned? To the mortal mind, it seems impossible. But we worship a God of mirac...

Obedience and Patience  In studying this week, I was thinking about Noah and his commitment to obedience patience, and trust in the Lord’s timing. His ministry of preaching and building the arc as commanded began at least 100 years before the flood came. When the arc was finished, he was commanded to enter the arc with his family and was sealed up inside... a full 7 days before any rain started to fall. A full week of sitting in the stuffy, sealed up arc with all those animals... just waiting and wondering. Can you imagine the obedience and faith of such a situation? How would our faith hold out? Would we begin to question or doubt whether we had actually received direction from the Lord, or if perhaps we had just imagined it all? But the rains did come, and the flood did happen. How tragic if he would have lost faith on day 6 and just came out of the arc. We might ask oursleves... how quick is my obedience? How sure is my faith and confidence? And when I act on promptings and noth...