Ministering of Angels

The article that we read for class this week titled "We Believe in the Ministering of Angels" By Larry Barkdull provided me with many quotes that I now love. First, “The spirits of the just are exalted to a greater and more glorious work; hence they are blessed in their departure to the world of spirits. Enveloped in flaming fire, they are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and motions, and are often pained therewith.” Not only is God so close to us but other spirits that have passed on understand us as well. Second, "And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul said concerning the fathers—that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect." The salvation of our brother and sisters on the other side is essential to our salvation  We need to make sure that we are putting in a consious effort to go perform baptisms for the dead. Third, "Whether our children have strayed from the path of truth, become lost by following a forbidden path, or consciously rebelled and run away to a far county, their Heavenly Father can find and rescue them. Even when they are so broken that they are no longer recognizable, He will patiently put them back together until they can bring forth good fruit. No matter their choices and situations, God loves them and is constantly working to save and redeem them. And so are their family and friends that have gone before. We are never alone in the work of redemption." Our heavenly father has such a strong love for his children, one that we will always be working to understand. He wants each one of us to return to Him one day and in order to do so we need to constantly progress in the right direction. Doing temple work for those who were never able to hear the truthfulness of this gospel is one of the most important things we can accomplish.

Elder Richard G. Scott

"Strong moral character results from consistent correct choices in the trials and resting of life. Such choices are made with trust in things that are believed and when acted upon are confirmed." This quote lead me to a scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants 11:12 it reads "And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good-yea, to do justly, to walk humble, to judge righteously; And this is my Spirit." When we apply action to our faith and make correct choices we develop strong character. The Lord provides us with the Spirit so that we are able to constantly feel His presence with us to make the right decisions. "Just because you don't see results after a day or even a week, don't give up. You may not see changes, but every smart choice you make is affecting you in ways you'd never imagine."

"What is it like to be a Christian?"

A woman was asked by a coworker, "What is it like to be a Christian?" The coworker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see." I absolutely love this story because it is so easy to relate to and understand. Our father in heaven loves us and wants us to always be at our best. He will do anything to make sure that we are happy and progressing. 

You can't get enough of what you don't need, because what you don't will not satisfy you. I really enjoyed when my teacher, Brother Williams made this comment. If what we are receiving is not what we actually need, then no matter how much we get it will not matter because it won't benefit us to it's full potential.
I also enjoyed a students comment about "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime." This concept is so simple yet it can be such a blessing in someones life if we are just willing to help our friends out by teaching them the correct principles by example rather than trying to force feed them. Help them to understand the correct principles rather than just going through the motions.

Marriage

"Marriage is perhaps the most vital of all decisions and has the most far reaching effects, for it has to do not only with immediate happiness but with eternal joys as well." ~Spencer W. Kimball