The Basics

The Basics

On being consistent  - Added by Matt 7/1/2015

When Alma was teaching Helaman about the Liahona he spoke to him about the wonderings of Lehi's family due to their complaining and lack of faith and obedience. He said: 

"They (Lehi's Family) were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey; Therefor, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course, and were afflicted..."

Had the family been more consistently faithful instead of whining and murmuring, it sounds like the journey through the wilderness would not have take so long (8 years). I think there is another lesson here for us as well... That even though the Lord may ask us to do difficult things that feel like "going out into the wilderness" at times, He doesn't want to leave us there any longer than is necessary. How long we spend in the wilderness is sometimes up to us. 

How much time have I spent arrogantly, foolishly wondering in my own wilderness when an attitude of humility and an increase of faith in God's plan for me could perhaps have shorten my journey through my crummy wilderness.

Mom Responded with: 

This is really interesting Matt. What I'm finding is that the "wilderness" doesn't have to be a major issue in life to throw you out of balance. . I've had some of those. This choir director thing isn't coming easy to me. What I'm realizing is, either I have avoided things that are difficult for me or I've just pushed through and forced things. I can't force this and it is what is, and it's one of the first things in my life I've felt uncomfortable working through. I know what the outcome I want is but I don't have the tools and this is something you can't fake till you get it. Soooo, prayer faith and a lot of brownies to keep people coming. 

As far as thoughts on your wilderness I say, yes, to a large degree it is in the genes, but it also has to do with the great work ethic and integrity that all of our children have and that's a wonderful thing passed honestly to you from your dad.  I think in addition to what you said it is balance in all things, forever and always. 

On Prayer & Scripture Reading - Elder Scott - Added By Matt 6/21/2015

Elder Scott said: 
"If you want to talk to God, Pray. If you want God to talk to you, read your scriptures."

On Living Christ Centered Lives - A Talk Written By Matt Given in 2015 - Added on 6/21/2015

Living a Christ Centered Life: 

The differences between living a Christ-Like and Christ-Centered life may not seem significant, but I propose that they are. Today I would like to spend a few minutes focusing on the idea that a Christ Centered life leads us to being more Christ like, and that they are not interchangeable. 

The scriptures record historical accounts of miraculous changes wrought upon men in short time periods. The accounts of Alma the Younger and Paul the Apostle are two examples. These men had life altering experiences that had such an influence on them that their behaviors changed almost instantly. They arose from these experiences with enormous amounts of faith and the ability to withstand nearly every temptation.  They changed from living lives of selfishness and apathy towards God to living some of the most Christ centered lives in history. They did not claim to be perfected. However, they did not seem to go through the challenges most of us face in overcoming our difficulties and slowly changing our behaviors to model Christ-like attributes. They were given a gift that many of us desire. A gift that we believe would change our outlook and behaviors just as quickly as it did for them. Truly they were each given a sign. Signs many of us wish we could have. But, how quickly we forget the stories of those who were given signs that did not produce faith or turn lives to Christ. 

Remember the Egyptian people who, having just witnessed plagues and rain of fire followed the Hebrew people of Moses to recapture them. Seemingly ignoring the signs from God that those they sought were His people. Seeing the red sea part in front of them as they gave chase did not slow their advance in the least. They followed their     blind ambitions to their own peril. Refusing to see obvious miracles being wrought in front of them. Signs and wonders do not lead us to Christ centered behavior. However, our Christ centered behavior might very well lead to signs and wonders. 

We learn in the 63rd section of the Doctrine and Covenants that: 

vs 9: "...Faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe" 

and that: 

vrs 10: "...Signs come by faith, not by the will of men." 

In the case of Alma and Paul, the signs and wonders that they saw changed their lives, but also made them extremely accountable for the knowledge they had received. These signs, along with this accountability, are mercifully not given to all of us. I am grateful that I am learning line upon line and that God is speaking to me in my weakness and after the manner of my understanding. So, why do we have these miraculous experiences recorded so carefully in the scriptures? 

These accounts, and others similar, were not given to us to define a timeframe to which we should expect a spiritual awakening in our lives. They do not show us the pattern for how one should begin to be reborn and come to live as God would have us. Rather, I believe they show a vivid picture of the attributes that a Christ centered child of God accumulates over a lifetime, causing them to be more Christ-Like. They describe what taking the name of Christ upon you really looks like. And, in Gods infinite wisdom, they tell of men who behaved far worse than most. Proving that all can be forgiven, and all can change.

In studying The Plan of Salvation Christ plays the principle role in our overcoming the effects of living in a fallen state. His Atonement provides for us an escape from both physical death and spiritual death.   

Physical death will come upon all of us. Because of the Atonement of Christ we will also all be resurrected. Those of us with physical limitations can look forward with hope to a day when those limitations are removed and we are made perfect through Christ. When the Savior implored us in Matthew 5:48 to "Be ye therefor perfect even as your father in Heaven is perfect" he did not yet include himself as a perfected being (though He had not acted imperfectly). His physical body was not yet eternal. Later, In Luke 12:32 He teaches the Pharisees that "... on the third day I shall be perfected." We know that he was then resurrected on the third day following his crucifixion. After his death and resurrection, and during his visit to the Nephites on the American continent, He had attained perfection in every sense. In teaching the Nephites to be perfect his wording changes slightly, but significantly. In 3rd Nephi 12:48 he says; "I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." He could now include himself as a perfect being to exemplify and strive to be like. The Savior was not only a perfect example to us but was made physically perfect through His faithfulness, obedience and resurrection. Because of His atonement we can overcome physical imperfections and be made eternally whole as He was. 

Overcoming physical death is a significant step for each of us in becoming Christ-Like, and will happen for all of us, because we chose God's plan in the pre-existance. But, living a Christ-like life and overcoming spiritual death seems to be more of a challenge because of our agency to choose.  God gave us agency to allow us to decide for ourselves what course we would take. He stands at the ready to help and to guide if we so choose. But will not step in front of our decisions to coerce us back to him. He sent the Savior to earth not only to be an example of how to be, but also to provide for us the atonement. This atonement allows for our sins to be remitted and our bodies to be resurrected. But, The Atonement also provides for us an enabling power. Elder Bednar of the quorum of the twelve Apostles has said concerning this power: 

“The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity."

 Because of the enabling power of the atonement we can live Christ-Centered lives though we may be far from Christ-Like. This power gives us strength and knowledge beyond our own to deal with and handle the challenges we face. But, we must apply ourselves to the knowledge we have. And we must adhere to the promptings we are given. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have the power and the desire to help us overcome our feelings of grief, despair, inadequacy, discouragement, pain, and temptation. They constantly offer us comfort, peace, hope, love, and strength. They can heal our feelings of fear, distrust, anger, self-doubt, sorrow, discouragement, and inadequacy. They can be the best resource we have to help us get through difficult days and trying times. If we but come unto Christ, He will lead us to the Father and a fulness of joy in Their presence.

In his final statement to us, the great Book of Mormon prophet Moroni pleads with us to "...come unto christ and be perfected in Him and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and IF ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might mind and strength, then is His grace sufficient for you, that BY his grace ye may be perfect in Christ..."

It is only through coming to the Savior that the enabling power of the atonement can be applied to our lives to strengthen us and make us better than we are. It is this enabling power that gives us strength and thee desire to keep Christ in the center of all of our activities. It is only through denying ourselves of "all ungodliness" that His grace will be applied fully to our efforts, making them enough. It is only through Christ-Centered action that we are made Christ-like through Christ.

At this time of year we spend much time reflecting on the birth of The Savior and this naturally leads us to think of his life. His perfect example and teachings. Some of us are overwhelmed by the enormity of errors we make when comparing our lives to the Saviors. Our ability to live LIKE Christ seems daunting. Causing us, at times, to remove Christ from the center of our lives and replace him with our own wisdom and will. This is especially true in my life. May I take a liberty in assuming we are all similar. There are times when we knowingly choose to disobey, seeking after the the things of this world. There are times when we ignorantly act in hast, not taking the time that we should to identify prayerfully, the correct course of action. There are moments of weakness where we fail to go to God for guidance. And perhaps most common, there are times in our lives where we simply fail to act because it would require difficult or taxing effort on our part. But, in addition to poor decisions that might  be considered sinful our lives are full of other challenges. Things not connected to sin. Mortal living conditions, Family challenges, health and feelings of inadequacy are all part of our earthly experience.  Perhaps it is in these times that it is most challenging to BEGIN AGAIN to act as the Savior would have. Thinking that our lives are somehow different from his and so we do not look to Him as our example. 

Perhaps sometimes we forget that the Saviors life was, by design, full of trials and challenges similar to ours. He too was tempted by worldly cares. In the most recent general conference Elder Holland suggested that the Savior was "...at least in adult life, homeless." He was not exempt from the unearned challenges of mortality. Perhaps, sometimes, we do not think ourselves capable of being like him because he chose correctly in every situation. Perhaps we think "I don't know how the Savior would have acted in this case? He would never have gotten himself into this situation to begin with! He would have come into this situation having acted perfectly and he would know what to do to act as God would have him." We think; "How could I possibly act perfectly now that I am in the mire of poor decisions. How could I act as The Savior would now, when I haven't been before?" This thought separates us from Christ. This thought is overwhelming. It is  defeating. It is a hopeless perspective. And it is wrong! As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, we have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide us through those difficult choices. God stands at the helm, Christ is his exemplar and our Redeemer, He is there to remove our sins and strengthen our weakness when we ask in faith. But, the third member of the Godhead is our constant companion if we choose to seek him and obey his council. Think of it... a member of the Godhead is present with you as soon as you stand in holy places and seek his direction. It is only then that we can apply the Saviors perfect example to our imperfect situations. It is only then that God can speak to us and direct our imperfect lives to become more Christ centered. 

King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon describes the process of building a Christ-Centered life by "yielding to the enticing of the Holy Spirit" and accepting his promises. Both of these actions help us put off the natural man and become better able to apply the Atonement to our lives. We then become as a little child, submissive meek humble patient full of love and willing to submit to all things. The Gift of the Holy Ghost is a gift from God that helps us stay on the straight and narrow and helps each of us develop faith in Christ and His Atonement. If one makes AND keeps sacred gospel covenants he or she will yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and live a Christ centered life. 

I have learned an important lesson about how I should view The Saviors life. I was not asked to see the Savior ONLY as a model of how I should live. I can and should look to his life for a pattern of how to be. But, if that is all I do I will be hopelessly inadequate to mimic it.  I am ALSO to see a comforter and a refuge from my challenges. I am to see a perfect advocate and judge who knows all of my pains and sorrows. I am to see a God who knows what I need and is willing to make me capable of living that way. One who has all wisdom and power to "...strengthen and mold my back to match the burden that is placed upon it". I have learned that a Christ centered life comes from from a place of prayerfully, humbly seeking how He MIGHT act in my life, in my situations. Through his perfect decisions I have a template for how I am expected to be. Though my individual circumstances may vary greatly from His life, coupled with the promptings of the Spirit his life helps mine. Together The Saviors example and the Spirits ever flowing assistance have made my life easier. Truly I have found that his burden is light when I have taken his yoke upon me. 

In John 16:13 it is made clear that The Holy Ghost does not speak for himself but He speaks for Christ. No wonder the plan calls for us to yield to the Holy Spirit. In so doing, we are yielding to Christ, who knows us and is the source of the spirits promptings. He knows more than anyone how to help us become like him, Christ-Like. He knows if our lesson that day needs to be on faith or love or patience or obedience.  The Saviors grace is sufficient for us and the strength that he freely offers us is all that we need. But, we must live Christ-Centered to become Christ-Like!

So what? President Packer of the quorum of the Twelve apostles is fond of this statement. "So What?" What does this knowledge cause us to do or to change. What in our lives is not in line with being fully Christ centered. Brothers and sisters might I suggest that there are many things. There are many aspects of our lives that we do not ask ourselves how would the Savior treat this person, or behave in this situation. We find ourselves in the middle of the week dealing with challenges in our families and thinking that our church attendance 4 days prior should be sufficient to invite the Spirit to guide me now. Perhaps we tell ourselves; "Heavenly father knows that I would love to have spent time studying and praying. He also knows how busy I am and that I am doing my best!". Though, inwardly we know it is far from it our best. In our busy lives we excuse our failure to prepare as Christ would have, but then expect to be directed as He was. We argue that taking the time to read the scriptures is hard, or I just forget. We allow small insignificant reasons to keep us from praying daily let alone asking God to direct us in EVERY action throughout the day. We find ourselves in the middle of the week alone spiritually and rather than humbly starting again to be Christ Centered, we look for other sources to guide our decisions. Again, putting off the spiritual until Sunday and assuming we have sufficient knowledge to act as God would have me now. This lack of spiritual direction leads us to lean on our own understanding and seeking answers from sources that are not Christ Centered. 

There IS a place in our life for studying our own problems using wisdom and mans understanding. Doing all that we can to help ourselves is expected. Identifying and addressing our problems is good. But, if we leave the Godhead out of the process we will fail. Elder Packer has stated that: 

"The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. Preoccupation with unworthy behavior can lead to unworthy behavior. That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel."

Richard G Scott has said: "If you want to talk to God, pray. If you want God to talk to you read the scriptures."

Brothers and sisters through study and prayer I have found my Savior and He is my friend. I am far from perfect. I wish so badly that I could show you all in detail how my life has changed by changing my life to be more Christ centered. I know that the basic principles of prayer and DAILY scripture study have made my life more Christ-Centered. I am far from Christ Like, but he will make up the difference one day and as my brother and Friend, I know He will be my advocate with the Father. Pleading my cause and will be able to say to Him that I was one of His, that His name was upon me and that I did my best to keep Him Central in all that I did. I know that Allowing time for daily spiritual experiences will change your heart and bring clarity to your life. I am a whiteness of that. The temptation to exclude God and seek direction, guidance and council from other sources eliminates the Spirits ability to be the still small voice in our hearts. Those other sources are often so loud we cannot hear Him who speaks for Christ. I know that Christ Centered behavior leads to acquiring Christ like attributes. Just as miracles are produced after our faith is proven, Christ-Like people have first lived Christ Centered lives. I know that the Savior will make up for my weaknesses, because He has said he would if I ask. And... I do. I testify that he lives and that he wants you to come to him. I testify that the Spirit will direct you there if you ask and if you listen. I testify that we have all been asked to be perfected in Him, through him. He would not have asked us to do this if it wasn't possible. 

May we look at our lives and assess where we stand. May we ask God more often to show us our weaknesses that we might never become complacent, and that we might ever be more Christ centered. May we live Christ Centered so that one day He can make us Christ LIKE is my humble prayer, in the Name of Jesus christ, Amen.

"If you want to talk to God, pray. If you want God to talk to you, read your scriptures."  

On Prayer - Added By Abbie on 6/19/2015

1.      How often should we pray? - as answered by D. Todd Christopherson

That’s an interesting question. It brings to mind something that Elder Richard G. Scott said in a general conference talk: “What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to express thanks when that occurs, for it is an evidence of His trust. When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior’s teachings and you need to act, proceed with trust. As you are sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the stupor of thought will come, indicating an improper choice, or the peace or the burning in the bosom will be felt, confirming that your choice was correct. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision” (“Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer,” Ensign,May 2007, 10).

It’s a valuable experience sometimes to pray and not immediately receive the answer you feel you need. It’s all conditioned, of course, on our living the way we should, continuing to seek His guidance, and being open to those promptings.

We ought to remember we don’t dictate to God the timing of His answers to us and the content of what comes in response to our prayers. I learned this when I was about 16. I was in the pageant at Hill Cumorah. I lived in New Jersey at the time, and they had some of the youth from New Jersey and New York as participants. I thought I had a deep belief in the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and felt that they were true and that the First Vision was as he described it. I thought, “This is the perfect chance. I’ll go to the Sacred Grove one night after the performance and get the final confirmation I need there.”

So I did. I went there late one night. It was a beautiful summer evening. Nobody else was there—perfectly reverent and peaceful. And I prayed. I didn’t ask for anything specific. I just said, “Can I have some confirmation of my belief?” Really I wanted a testimony of my feeling about the Prophet and the Book of Mormon.

Nothing happened. I prayed a long time—I’m sure more than an hour. Nothing. I was really disappointed. I said, “What did I do wrong? Why didn’t the Lord answer me? Wasn’t it the perfect place, the perfect time? What should I have done that I didn’t do?”

Later, what I was looking for came, but it was at home in a quiet moment when I was reading the Book of Mormon. That witness from the Holy Ghost flooded over me, and I knew. I knew I knew. And when I looked back on the experience, I said, “Why didn’t He answer my prayer then? Why was it later?” I learned two important lessons from that:

First, you don’t have to be any place special for the Lord to answer your prayer. You don’t have to make a pilgrimage to Palmyra or Jerusalem or anything like that. He knows where you are. He knows your name. He can answer you right here, right now, any moment.

And second, you don’t dictate to God. You just don’t tell Him what and when. That comes according to His will and His timing and His wisdom. He loves us; He knows what’s best for us, and our job is to be open. Our job is always to be willing and ready to receive. Then He knows what’s best and when to answer us and how to answer us. So, after all is said and done, we still have to live by faith.

Prayer is one of the things that will give us the strength and the power to be examples of the believers. The influence of the Lord, the meaningfulness of our prayers, His guidance in our life day to day, the strength that comes with all of that really does make it possible for us to consistently be examples of the believers in everything we do.