Where dreams become real
All that the Father hath:
His love is so complete that he holds nothing back. He has promised all that he has to those that love and keep his commandments. All that he has, which is everything, is freely given. This is a natural response of complete love, to surrender all that he has, to those he is confidant will use it wisely for everyones good. He gives all, including his attention, support and love. He is focused on our needs and will do all he can to sustain our righteous desires. He said knock, ask, seek and give the good gifts; he would be mindful of every hair of the head, every prayer before it is breathed. He is not diverted, but focused on our well being. He is not diverted to some sport or hobby or amusement of diversion, but his work, his passion and all that he desires; is to see our success. He glories in our success. This is his occupation, his preoccupation, his work and his amusement. In Moses he said, “This is my work and my glory”. If we have God with us, who can be against us? We have only to look to God and live.

Now let us grow and learn from his example and open our heart and focus our energies to those we have been given charge or stewardship over. May we focus our energy or love and open our heart and give all that we have to the little ones; and to our eternal companion; if she is to become truly our eternal companion. Sometimes we tend to do what we anticipate from Heavenly Father: To give things rather than a portion of ourselves. We should be looking to see the long-term picture. We may be overlook the more challenging charge; to be mindful of and watch over spiritual welfare of those we love; To have love unfeigned; To instill a love for Heavenly Father and a testimony by example; To challenge them to become all that they can be; To instill in them a desire to sacrifice for the well being of others. It is when we can look beyond today that the windows of heaven are opened and those blessing flow.

The Temple is that point in the universe where Heaven touches us: our hearts, our souls our lives.

The Hearts of the Fathers

What difference does it make if our fathers turn their heart towards us? When we have the focused attention of good men of past generations looking toward us, we have the potential of great blessings. They, perhaps, know how to assist us in directing our passions and energies in a way no one else can. Much of who we are comes from them. They know the challenges they mastered, and see us struggling with them today. To have their directed prayers and blessings will have profound positive impact in many ways. Those that came from a long line of convenient people will reflect that blessing in how they live and are blessed. We see leaders’ begat leaders. Doctors often come from a long line of doctors. That is more that an idle wishes to be like my dad. There is much to be said for heritage on several levels.

Today there are more first generation members than those with many generations of covenanted ancestors. As we accomplish the work in the temples we awake, release and motivate our forefathers in ways we will only know when the veil is removed between us and them.

Meanwhile, as we turn our hearts towards them and do the great work of the temples on their behalf we are unleashing an army of priesthood in that unseen world against the opposing army. They will in effect be drawing the fire from the adversary, that we might survive in this intensifying battle for right. Satin will be bound by the eventual ineffectiveness of his efforts on an expanding army of covenanted people.

As families are sealed together we weld the links of a chain that works it way back to Father Adam. When our family has claim on Adam and his family for protection and support we will have claim on all the blessing of Heaven. It is through this linage we become a part of the united front with Michael the Arc Angle at our head.

Understand there are two fronts in this war. There is the Church and Kingdom of God. There is Melchezideck and Patriarchal Priesthoods. There is Church and Family. One is a means to the end of the other. We have a church that is here to help us get there. We have elder and priest to help us come to the unity of the faith till we became the measure of the stature of Christ. All that has an end, while the Family goes on forever.

As we grow and become united we become ready to received celestial glories and stand ready for the eternities. Such aspirations are of no value nor could we handle them alone; We need family; children and parents, we need grand children and grandparents to expand who we are to who we are too become.

Our Weaknesses

Our Weaknesses

We have a tendency to see the good in ourselves and the weaknesses in others. That is only natural. Perhaps we should try and turn that around. Maybe we need examine our weaknesses and attempt to change them or is that something that is very difficult? We need to come to terms with the reality that this natural man is an enemy to God. If we cannot recognize the enemy that is within then we will surely are deceived. Often we are too quick to justify our weaknesses and not that of our brothers. But Jesus thought, “As we forgive other we will be forgiven”. Jesus knew that as we open ourselves to examination, that we would recognize our desperate need for his mercy. When Moses did that introspection he exclaimed “What is the nothingness of man that though art mindful of him?” We remind ourselves often that we are his children, seeing the God that is in us. Perhaps we could to focus on our brother and sister, that they are his children, even the very least of them. And in so doing, we can take advantage the mercies of Christ. It is for our weakness that we need to find forgiveness and the miracle that can take the natural man out of us. It seems that the miracle will occur in us as we imposes that miracle on others. As we see only the good in our weak and sinful brothers, than the Lord can see the God in us. It is not like we are going to forgive sins as much as we are going to open our hearts to God.

We seem to get into trouble as we focus on the weakness of others. We need to go beyond that and see how we can go the extra mile and help and give and lift up and do all we can do to bind the wounds and heal the pain. They are not the enemy, but Satan; the one that wound them.

Just as in the Garden of Eden, The Lord set up a conflict where wisdom was required. “Of all the fruit thou may freely eat, nevertheless I forbid..” So also now we see the need to forgive 70 times 7 and to go the extra mile, all these things at our disadvantage, that we might gain the greatest advantage, The Lord’s mercy in our weakness. The miracle occurs as we cling to Christ that he makes those weaknesses our strengths.

Challenges

Life is full of challenges; they are what helps us grow. That is, if we meet them and recognizes our challenges of life for what they are. Often we miss the opportunity and take a harder path. When we think of a challenge, we associate it with difficulty. A challenge is going to require us to push to our limits, to strive, to go beyond our comfort zone to accomplish something good and worthwhile. Some times we feel we are not up to the challenge and opt out. We want a rest, to pass on this one and not always try so hard. Quite often that easier path ends up being much more difficult and troublesome. We find ourselves in the brier patch or mire.

The struggle to shake off the natural man and become the all we can be, is our underlining quest of this life. Each time we our given a challenge to do better, the alternative in never status quo. If we are not growing we are losing ground. We do find peace in righteous doing and joy in service. The alternative often if fun at first but after a while we find that the glitter wears off and we need to work harder at what we thought was fun in order to have fun. The chores of cleaning and upkeep of our expensive recreation toys can become a real burden. The obligation to keep up our recreation and “get away” programs can quickly defeat their original purpose.

When the road gets steep and life's challenges seem to be more than we can bear, then the true purpose of life shine the brightest. It is at that critical moment that we can only succeed with help from God and without some of our weakness that all to often we cling onto for dear life, or should I say dear death. That could be the core purpose of a challenge, that it is forcing us to choose: between a higher plane and the illusion of comfort with our faults and frailties. Letting go of those weakness may be the hidden agenda of the challenge that God in His wisdom gave to us that we might grow and become more like him.

One might rightfully wonder if we keep repeating some challenge, is because we refuse to let go of weaknesses that are holding us back. The weakness we hold onto for dear life, thinking they give us comfort, security or pleasures. When in reality letting go of those sins and weakness will bring the true joy we seek.

The reason challenges are so difficult is that they do take us out of our comfort zone; they push us beyond what we perceive to be the limits of our abilities. You would think after enough time of stretching and growing that we would realize we are son and daughters of God and we can become like Him. You might think we would know that all things are possible and miracles do happen and faith is a very real element in our lives. He does love us and watch over every step we take and is crying with us in our difficulties, yet as a Wise and All-Knowing God he give us the freedom to grow and change through challenges that push us far beyond who we are, to what we ought to be.

Our comfort is in that he will never let us be tempted beyond our capacity. That is, if we turn to him, he is might to save. Repentance is just another perspective to challenges. This essential element of life is where wisdom comes from. Our objective is not to necessary winning every challenge that confronts us, but just to endure to the end.

We are taught that man is that he might have joy. Joy is the result of effort and has a lasting impact. Fun and good times are often an instant release of excitement and the pleasure. Fun is often derived more from the change and release than from the effort to do something. That is why fun wears thin so fast.

Just as curses are given to us to confront our weakness, challenges are given that we might confront our strengths. May we meet our challenges and do well.

Count your blessing

Have you ever had to guess how many Jelly Beans were in a jar? Some kids would count the ones they could see, other kids just guessed at numbers not having a clue how close they were. Sometime I feel like one of those kids that didn’t have a clue when it comes to counting just how many blessing I have? You can’t see them all; you just know there are a lot of them. Well, to make matters worse it is hard to be grateful for blessing that you have a hard time counting. So here is my plan. First we count the ones we can see. It makes it easier; we just count the red ones first. Then the black, before long we have some idea how many we can see.

Now back to blessing. Blessings are gifts from God. We have the “red ones” that we often overlook until they are not so easy to get. Air, unless we have asthma. Beautiful mountains and sky are blessing, unless our vision is fading and it become a blur or worse. Flowers and trees unless we have allergies. A walk in the neighbor unless our legs are not doing so well these days. Friends, shelter and food are among the staples of life that are always there; unless a disaster hits. Then we count the black ones; we find it easier to count medium size blessing like our health or our work or a good home, family and friends that loves us. Then the ones that are hard to see; some of the smaller ones often slip between the cracks like the still small voice that helped something not to happen. You never know because you responded. Or the helping hand that was no big deal, it was just there when you needed it; and then things went on with out a hitch. It is hard to judge when a burden is being made light. It is hard to know when the path is prepared before you. It is more obvious when it is not happening. But even that is a blessing. Remember that,” this thing shall be for they experience and for they good.” Those hard things must be blessing in disguise. I recall the quote that when the Lord doesn’t want to be quoted it is often told by anonymous. The timing of how thing work out are blessing that are hard to track, just appreciate. So now that we lost count and have to start all over maybe we just want to err on the safe side and be grateful for the Love that is in all of these little and big things. We need not lose our blessing to appreciate them, we only need to say think you. The world and all its beauty were given “to us to gladden the heart and please the eye.” So when these blessing don’t brighten our day then we must have lost count and need to start over. Just a thought.