A "good" church day ...

You know those rare Sundays where every single meeting hour is just the best time ever?! It hardly ever happens for me - especially having four kids who pretty much make it their mission to drive me more insane than they ever have while I am desperately trying to feel the Spirit. 

Well, today my baby stayed home with Grandma and I was able to attend my last two meetings without any of my kids. It was truly blissful. Every lesson was on point and was exactly what I was dying to hear.  I just felt the whole time that I had to get home and take some time to write a post and pass on the incredible lessons I was taught today, and the lasting impression those words had on my heart. 

The first lesson was on faith. Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. The title of the lesson alone brought such peace and love to my soul. He really is. Our faith starts and ends with Him. A question that was asked to the group during the lesson was "why do we keep the commandments?" Most answers were because of obedience. Some people said out of love for God. The part that usually frustrates me when this question is asked, is that people constantly say how hard it is to follow the commandments. How hard it is that we are held to such a high standard in our lives. That it would be a lot easier to not follow them. Keep an open mind with my take on this...

I 100% (with every fiber of my being) passionately disagree. I wish that I could take a few years of my life that were gut wrenching and unbearable and put them into a movie for people to view whenever they are feeling like following the commandments is too hard. I PROMISE YOU - not following them is excruciatingly harder.  Yes, we are awesome for being able to follow so many "rules" and hold ourselves to high standards.. But the blessings and conversions in Christ that come from following them ARE WAY MORE AWESOME. It took a long time, but I am finally in a place where following commandments feels easy to me. I know what you are thinking.. EASY?! Are you crazy?! Yes, a little. Here is how my logic works -

Following commandments brings blessings. Blessings make life more joyful. A joyful life is what we all seek to possess. Once you have that machine going and all the parts are working together to create this outcome - then following the commandments IS the easier choice. It IS the easier path. Once you have tasted of that pure joy and pure conversion to the gospel, holding yourself to the high standards the church sets for you feels less and less difficult. It is actually (dare I say) exciting?! I am totally geeking out right now, I know. I just lived a long time without the gospel. Not following the commandments has zero appeal to me, and I am SO grateful for the experiences that have led me to my solid faith in keeping them. I challenge you to try and view your obedience to the commandments as an easier choice. I know that the church expects a lot of its members. You put a lot of time and a lot of energy into service, and it is at times difficult. Multiple callings, kids in different programs, visiting teaching, home teaching.. I have known a few people in the last couple years who have left the church for this very reason and it breaks my heart. If you are feeling overwhelmed, if you are feeling like you are stretched too thin - talk to someone. I promise you that your bishop would much rather you took a step back from callings and focused on strengthening your own testimony for a while - rather than throwing in the towel and leaving all together because it seems like the easier choice.  There is so much goodness in store for you if you just keep pushing forward and having faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is the basis of every principle of the gospel, and sometimes it is one of the hardest to figure out. Keep trying!

The second lesson today was on pride. Pride is a B. So hard to keep pride at bay. It has such a wide reach and manifests itself in so many ways. I remember pulling my patriarchal blessing out sometime in the last year and reading "beware of pride in your life". ME? PRIDEFUL?! What was this guy thinking? He must have been confused about who he was blessing. I am not prideful!

 HA HA! BAM. Yes I am. The fact that I was offended by my patriarchal blessing was my first clue.  Humility is the only antidote for pride. There were some quotes in class today that really made an impression on me. 

“Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done."

"The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works."

"Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s."

How many times in my life have I gotten upset or angry with Heavenly Father for not agreeing with me or giving me the outcome I want?! SO MANY! I was convinced that I knew what was best for me. I knew what was best for my husband and my kids. NOT TRUE. I would say as a mother and wife, I am pretty in tune with my family's needs.. right?! Well, Heavenly Father is in tune with them on a whole different level that I will never understand. 

There are going to times where we have no idea what the heck the Lord has in store for us. There will be times where we are in the lowest low of our trials, wondering where Heavenly Father is and why He has left us. I promise you, He has not left you. If He leads you in a direction that you don't like - press forward anyway. Have faith that He will bring you through it and you will see why it was necessary. It is pretty easy to forget the blessings and the good things in your life when you are in the thick of tribulation. The only thing I have ever done that has brought me peace in those awful moments is drop to my knees and say a prayer that only consists of gratitude. Pray as long and as often as you need to, and only about the things you are thankful for. Over time you will start to see things in a positive light again. The suffering will pass or the burden will become lighter. You will not be in this tormenting test for the rest of your life. Ups and downs are inevitable - but staying on the side of humility rather than pride, will bring you through it successfully every single time.  

I think sometimes of what life would be like if we all possessed greater humility.

Imagine a world in which we would replace I as the dominant pronoun.

Think of the impact on the pursuit of knowledge if being learned without being arrogant were the norm.

Consider the climate that would exist within a marriage or family—or any organization, for that matter—if through genuine humility mistakes were freely admitted and forgiven, if we were not afraid to praise others for fear they might gain on us, and if all were able to listen as well as we now verbalize.

Contemplate the advantages of life in a society in which considerations of status were only secondary, where citizens were more concerned with their responsibilities than their rights.  -Marlin K Jensen