Learning to Forgive

The only way to truly forgive is through and with the help of Jesus Christ. This video shows how a man was able to forgive someone for taking away the life of his wife and family. I know that the only way he was able to do this was with the help of prayer. I know that Heavenly Father will always support us when we are lonely and anguished. He is waiting for us to come to him to ask him to help us heal and forgive someone that has hurt us. Watch how this man used the strength of the Lord to get through this horrific trial in his life.

Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

This inspired me beyond words. I know that what this man is talking about is real and can be real for anyone who needs to forgive. Holding a grudge is the last thing that our Heavenly Father wants us to do. It hurts us WAY more than it does the other person that we are holding the grudge against. Don't hurt yourself, forgive. Learn how to do it with the help of the Lord. Remember what Christ said when he was on the cross? Rather than saying how mad he was at the Jews for crucifying him he said "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." He forgave these people who did HORRIFIC things to him. Let the Lord help you to forgive those who have done horrific things to you. He loves you and wants to help you. I know that through the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ that we can forgive people if only we rely on Him.

Jesus Christ, Our Savior, Our Brother

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the Son of God. He is our Redeemer. The Holy Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ's mother was Mary, His father on earth was Joseph, that He was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, and labored with Joseph as a carpenter. When he turned 30, He began a three-year ministry of teaching, blessing, and healing the people of the Holy Land. He also organized His Church and gave His apostles "power and authority" Luke 9:1 to assist in His work.

What do we mean when we say He is the Savior of the world? The Redeemer? Each of these titles point to the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way by which we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. Jesus suffered and was crucified for the sins of the world, giving each of God’s children the gift of repentance and forgiveness. Only by His mercy and grace can anyone be saved. His resurrection prepared the way for every person to overcome physical death as well. These events are called the Atonement. In short, Jesus Christ saves us from sin and death. For that, he is very literally our Savior and Redeemer. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He will be our Lord forever. Does that show why it's so important to read his scriptures that he has blessed us with? Using the scriptures as tools to help us progress we can come to know our Savior better. We can learn about his life, his sufferings and the things he did before his death and after he was resurrected from the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon. He not only visited the people in Jeruselem after he was resurrected but he visited those people who were in the American continent as well. Thats what the Book of Mormon is about, those people who were living in the Americas 600 bc-400 ad.

The Sacred Gift of Having a Family

Having and belonging to a family is one of the GREATEST gifts that Heavenly Father has given to us. Families are central to our Heavenly Fathers plan that he has set up for his children, US! What do you think happens to you and your family after we die? Do you think that we make relationships with our families and loved ones and go through all the experiences we go through to just have it all end when we die? I know with all of my heart that it doesn't just end when we die. We have the ability to have our family unit be bound together while we are on earth so that when we do die our family members will be bound to us and we will still be the family that we were on earth. That means that if you are married, you have the opportunity to be sealed to your husband or wife for the rest of your lives on earth and eternity. That also means if you have children that they will be YOUR children for eternity. What a beautiful thing!!!!

Some of you may wonder how this amazing thing is possible. It is possible through modern day revelation. Let me explain what modern revelation is. From the very beginning of the world there have been Prophets. A Prophet is someone that God reveals his will to. The Prophet is the person that reveals Gods will to the people of the earth. Think of Noah the Prophet from the Bible for example. He recieved revelation from God to tell the people that there would be a flood. The people didn't listen. God flooded the earth. The Prophet died and there was a period of apostasy, which means a time when the authority of God was not on the earth. This has been the pattern from the time of Adam untill now. After Christ died and his Apostles died there was no one with that authority of God on the earth (another apostasy) Untill God called another prophet, Joseph Smith, just as he has been doing since the time of Adam. God is the same yesterday, today and forever right? God revealed his will to Joseph Smith and gave him the authority to bind a marriage and family together for eternity in the sacred temple. To the right is a picture of the Salt Lake City Temple. Inside of this beautiful temple families are sealed together for time and all eternity. What a blessing God has given us. These temples are sacred places and are known as the "House of the Lord." I know that God gave Joseph Smith the sacred calling to restore this beautiful sealing ordinace that is performed in the temple. We have a Prophet today and his name is Thomas S. Monson. He leads and guides this church today and through him God reveals his will to his children here on earth.

When you receive inspiration, don't forget it.

Often times I wonder if the inspiration that I have recieved was real inspiration. Have you ever wondered the same thing? I have also had amazing experiences where I will receive an definite answer to my prayers and then days later question the answer that I had recieved. I was reading in this months Ensign, which is a monthly magezine that contains talks or articles that members of the church have written. They are all inspired talks and have carefully been chosen to put into the Ensign magezine before its published. This month I was reading and stumbled along this beautiful quote given by an Apostle of the Lord, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

"Opposition turns up almost anyplace something good has happened. It can happen when you are trying to get an education. It can hit you after your first month in your new mission field. It certainly happens in matters of love and marriage. … There are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been genuine illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. … Face your doubts. Master your fears.‘Cast not away therefore your confidence.’ Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

This is so true isn't it? Satan wants us to think that the answers that we have recieved to our prayers weren't real. He wants us to question the divine relelation that we have recieved from our loving Heavenly Father. This is NOT what Heavenly Father wants for us. He doesn't want us to be confused and question what we've felt, He wants us to be confident in the revelation that we have receieve and act on it.

Take on the challenge to write down the experiences that you've had when you've received answers from Heavenly Father in a journal/notebook or anything! Just WRITE IT DOWN! Then in the future when Satan is working on you and when you question your answer that you have once recieved then you can go back and read about how you felt when you got your answer. The feelings will return and you will be confident in the answer you have recieved. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us SO much more than we can even comprehend. Be confident and find strength to realize and act on the answers that you have recieved from Him.