Quote from Dallin H. Oaks

“The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done...It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.”

Scripture Insight: Mosiah 2:21

I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath...

Discussion
I think the use of the word "lending" here is interesting. King Benjamin could have said "giving" but he didn't. He went with "lending" which has connections with owing something in return. The Lord provides us our lives here (our "breath") so that we can carry out his work. He doesn't just give it to us. He wants us to pay him back via our faith and dedication in Him and His work.

Scripture Insight: Mosiah 2:6

And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them.

Discussion
So basically they were watching #ldsconf from the comfort of their own home before it was cool....who knew there were hipsters in the Book of Mormon?

Scripture Insight: 1 Nephi 16:5

And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.

Discussion
Here we have Nephi talking about his knucklehead brothers Laman and Lemuel. He has just spoken many hard truths to them until the point of them humbling themselves. I think the most interesting piece of this scripture is where Nephi says "...I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness."

Despite all the hard hearts and stiffneckedness of his brothers, he still has faith in them. Time and time again they murmur against him and the Lord, heck, they go on to do 2-3 more times before the end of this chapter, even to the point of murderous intent. Yet Nephi is hopeful. I think this says a lot about him and his faith in the gospel's power to change the hearts of others.

The real question is, do we have that same faith as we work with those around us who appear to be struggling or even murmuring?

Scripture Insight: 4 Nephi 1: 1-2

1 And it came to pass that the thirty and fourth year passed away, and also the thirty and fifth, and behold the disciples of Jesus had formed a church of Christ in all the lands round about. And as many as did come unto them, and did truly repent of their sins, were baptized in the name of Jesus; and they did also receive the Holy Ghost.

2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.

Discussion
This is taking place right after the Savior visited the Americas and the people there took hold of the message presented to them and believed in it. I think its interesting to see such a sharp contrast to how the people here responded compared to those in the New Testament because while there were many who believed and the church grew, there was also contention and persecution. Many of the Saints were killed because of their faith and yet here in the Americas everyone accepted it. I'm sure there are many factors to be considered in this, but its still interesting to note.

Study Recap: Finding Forgiveness by Elder Richard G. Scott

Title: Finding Forgiveness
Author: Elder Richard G. Scott
Source: May 1995 Ensign
Link: http://www.lds.org/ensign/1995/05/finding-forgiveness?lang=eng

Rating: 3/5

Favorite Points

• Each one of us encounters unique challenges meant for growth.
• Every incorrect choice we make, every sin we commit is a violation of eternal law. That violation brings negative results we generally soon recognize. There are also other consequences of our acts of which we may not be conscious. They are nonetheless real. They can have a tremendous effect on the quality of our life here and most certainly will powerfully affect it hereafter.
• Which of us is not in need of the miracle of repentance? Whether your life is lightly blemished or heavily disfigured from mistakes, the principles of recovery are the same. The length and severity of the treatments are conditioned to fit the circumstances.
•  Obedience and faith in the Savior give you power to resist temptation. 
• Study and ponder to determine how serious the Lord defines your transgression to be. That will bring healing sorrow and remorse. It will also bring a sincere desire for change and a willingness to submit to every requirement for forgiveness.
• Abandonment of sin. This is an unyielding, permanent resolve to not repeat the transgression. By keeping this commitment, the bitter aftertaste of that sin need not be experienced again. Remember: “But unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return.”  Joseph Smith declared: “Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day. Daily transgression and daily repentance is not … pleasing in the sight of God.”
• Please understand that confession is not repentance. It is an essential step, but is not of itself adequate. Partial confession by mentioning lesser mistakes will not help you resolve a more serious, undisclosed transgression. Essential to forgiveness is a willingness to fully disclose to the Lord and, where necessary, His priesthood judge all that you have done.
• Remember, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
• Full obedience brings the complete power of the gospel into your life with strength to focus on the abandonment of specific sins. It includes things you might not initially consider part of repentance, such as attending meetings, paying tithing, giving service, and forgiving others.
•  The Lord said: “He that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven.”
• Satan would have you believe that serious transgression cannot be entirely overcome. The Savior gave His life so that the effects of all transgression can be put behind us...
• Do not take comfort in the fact that your transgressions are not known by others. That is like an ostrich with his head buried in the sand. He sees only darkness and feels comfortably hidden. In reality he is ridiculously conspicuous. Likewise our every act is seen by our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son. They know everything about us.
• resident Kimball taught: “To every forgiveness there is a condition. The plaster must be as wide as the sore. The fasting, the prayers, the humility must be equal to or greater than the sin.”
• “It is unthinkable that God absolves serious sins upon a few requests. He is likely to wait until there has been long, sustained repentance.”
• In closing, with all the tenderness and sincerity of heart I invite each one of you to thoughtfully review your life. Have you deviated from the standards that you know will bring happiness? Is there a dark corner that needs to be cleaned out? Are you now doing things that you know are wrong? Do you fill your mind with unclean thoughts? When it is quiet and you can think clearly, does your conscience tell you to repent?
• For your peace now and for everlasting happiness, please repent. Open your heart to the Lord and ask Him to help you. You will earn the blessing of forgiveness, peace, and the knowledge you have been purified and made whole. Find the courage to ask the Lord for strength to repent, now. I solemnly witness that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer. I know that He lives. I testify that He loves you personally and will help you.

#MissionaryStoryMonday: Watch What You Say

Given that I was serving a foreign speaking mission, I wanted to learn as much as possible about the language to avoid saying the wrong thing. Part of this was learning all forms of profanity...not so I could use them though, but so I could know which words NOT to use! Can you imagine a missionary teaching a lesson and saying, "I know that the effin' devil wants to ensnare you..." Not good.

So two occasions come to mind where I fell prey to saying the wrong thing. One was using a word I didn't understand the meaning of (and it can be bad) and the other was saying something in English which also turned out to be bad.

The first involved a less-active member we were working with who used to be a boxer. He told me his boxing name was "Coño Hernandez." Now since his first name was Antonio, I assumed "coño" was another shortened version, like Pete for Peter. But no, I was wrong*. My companion (also American and aware of what it meant) and I were talking to the bishop and his wife about him and I referred to him by his boxing name. Their eyes got pretty big and explained my error. Bad part is that as a way to get our foot in the door I also asked many potential investogators nearby to this member if they knew the boxer "Coño Hernandez." Instead, the foot went in my mouth.

Another occasion I was with my third companion who was from Mexico, but spoke English very well and we alternated days on which we would speak to each other so we could both practice. So one day we're walking along the street and we see this little girl who looked very sickly and like a zombie. Being curious and wanting to know more Spanish I asked him in English, "How do you say zombie in Spanish?" Next thing I know this little girl looks at me before running off crying. I look at my companion and who tells me "zombie" in Spanish is "zombi." They are pronounced almost exactly the same so the little girl understood me calling her a zombie...oops.

So as a missionary you are told to always open you mouth and speak to people. Sometime though it seems it would be better to shut your mouth before your big foot ends up there.

*I won't repeat here what the word means, but feel free to use Google Translate if you're curious. I checked before posting this to make sure it would bring up the right meaning.

Mormon Channel Highlight: Understanding Islam

I came across this podcast the other day and listened to it while driving on a trip. I knew many of the things shared due to previous study and interactions with Muslims, but found the podcast informative and well worth the time to listen to.

This also comes from the Insights series which has the following description:

Insights features professionals in many fields who share knowledge in their areas of expertise so that we may learn "of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass . . . that [we] may be prepared in all things." (See Doctrine and Covenants 88:79-80.)

The link to the episode with an overview of Islam provided by a BYU professor can be found here:

http://www.mormonchannel.org/insights/1

#MissionaryStoryMonday: Hunting Stories

One of my best companions was a guy from a small town in Idaho. Of all the people I served with, he was the one I worked the best with and we just flowed with the work perfectly. We were together for 3 months and they were really enjoyable...except for one things: his hunting stories.

They were cool and interesting at first, but there always seemed to be one right after the other. How many hunting stories can a person really have!? All day long, day after day, it was coyote that or deer this. I didn't think it was possible to go hunting that much.

So one day I finally ask him, "Elder, how many deer have you killed in your entire life?" He was daunted by the question and had to think for a moment how many it really was. You can imagine my surprise when he said "Gosh, probably 4 or 5." What!? I looked at him completely flabbergasted and asked in exasperation, "4 or 5! Where the heck do all these hunting stories come from then? How have you killed on 4 or 5 deer!?"

Turns out most of his stories were about coyotes on the farm and where he lived you could only kill 1 deer per season because there were so few. That week I emailed my step-dad who is a big hunter and said where we're from you can kill more than 1 deer per DAY on most occasions. That's a big difference between one part of the US and another.

Not impressed with his low deer count, I started tuning out the hunting stories because who really cares about coyotes? Still love the guy though!

Study Recap: “Awake My Soul!”: Dealing Firmly with Depression by Steve Gilliland

Title: “Awake My Soul!”: Dealing Firmly with Depression
Author: Steve Gilliland
Source: August 1978 Ensign
Link: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1978/08/awake-my-soul-dealing-firmly-with-depression?lang=eng

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Points

• Feeling discouraged and inadequate happens to all of us, but when these feelings become a way of life, or even frequent visitors, they’re signs of trouble.
• As I remember my own experiences of being trapped in the web of discouragement, the worst part was the feeling that I was helpless to get free. Working on a “positive mental attitude” seemed like only kidding myself. 
• Fasting and prayer brought specific guidance, and over time my struggles produced what may perhaps be the long-term answer to my prayers—some concepts and skills that have helped me pull myself out of these depressions.
• It’s not the Holy Ghost’s problem but ours. Each of us has many voices within, criticizing and praising, encouraging and discouraging, desiring and warning, reasoning and disregarding. We’ve all wondered at some time which voices were from the Lord and which were from Satan, which came with us from premortal life and which we’ve acquired since birth. Fortunately, some good clues to discerning the source of these voices are given in Moro. 7:16: “Every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent … of Christ.”
• For years your personality may have been growing in one direction. Now you must help it grow in another direction. You cannot easily erase those destructive voices from the past, but you can recognize what they do to you and turn them off. You can rid yourself of these voices by replacing them with positive feedback and experiences that will build self-esteem. The Lord has promised that our weaknesses can become strengths and that “all things shall work together for [our] good” if we search and pray. (Ether 12:27, D&C 90:24.)
• Once we can turn off the negative voices, we can see their source. Discouragement is not the Lord’s method—it’s Satan’s. Satan emphasizes your weaknesses; the Lord, your ability to overcome. Satan urges immediate perfection to make you feel inadequate. The Lord leads you toward perfection. Once we recognize the source, we can cry with Nephi, “Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.” (2 Ne. 4:28.)
• The Lord seeks to strengthen you, to give you the power to overcome problems. He wants you to recognize your weaknesses and then do something about them, Jesus didn’t condemn the adulteress. He said, “Go, and sin no more.” (John 8:1–11.) Alma made it very clear to Corianton that he had committed a terrible sin in being unchaste, but he concluded with: “And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things [Corianton’s doubts about God’s justice] trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance.” (Alma 42:29.)
• It’s one thing to face up to our weaknesses and work on them. It’s another thing to dwell on them. The gospel teaches us to take charge of our minds as well as our bodies. Suppose you’re thinking about a mistake you’ve made. Ask yourself: Is this helping me deal with the problems I’m now having or is it making me feel more inadequate? If it’s dragging you down, push it out of your mind or crowd something else in front of it.
• If I immediately start tormenting myself for my weakness when I find myself dwelling on an unworthy thought, I don’t have enough strength or determination to resist the next temptation. If, instead, I thank the Lord for showing me that the thought is unwholesome and helping shift my mind away, I leave the situation closer to the Lord, grateful for the strength I have, and praying for greater strength in the future.