What it takes. The journey, the goal... to Let God.

Our Lord is like the dentists. . . . 

Dozens of people go to Him to be cured 

of some one particular sin which they are ashamed of. . . . 

Well, He will cure it all right: but He will not stop there. 

That may be all you asked; 

but if you once call Him in, He will give you the full treatment. . . . 

“Make no mistake,” He says, “if you let Me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that. You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life, whatever inconceivable purification it may cost you after death, whatever it costs Me, 

I will never rest, nor let you rest, until you are literally perfect—

until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said he was well pleased with Me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less.”

. . . You must realize from the outset that the goal 

toward which He is beginning to guide you 

is absolute perfection; and 

no power in the whole universe, except you yourself, can prevent Him from taking you to that goal. 

That is what you are in for. 

And it is very important to realize that.

(C. S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian, 77-78; emphasis added.)

It's up to you. What do you say? Heh. 

I say...  Keep bringing it on.

Doctrine & Covenants 8:8

A couple of quotes for me... and a thought or two.

"If we can trust the answers God has already given, why not the answers yet to be given, including patiently awaiting the data from our first estate that will illuminate the imponderables of our second estate?"
Neal A. Maxwell

"Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ we may learn from our experience without being condemned by that experience." Elder Bednar quoting Elder Bruce C. Hafen

Life is hard. Having faith is hard. It takes just about all of my effort to not only have faith, but to act in faith. And what do I have faith in??? Faith in Jesus Christ, that he is the Savior and Redeemer. Without that first, all of the acting in faith in the world would amount to a whole lot of nothing. So, I have faith that He lives, that He will come again and that I have a purpose in all of this crazy stuff called life. And then, I ask questions. I get answers and exercise faith in things not seen and I act. One step at a time, into the dark. Waiting for the light to come on. Trusting that I am not alone and that something I do will matter to someone, somewhere. Trusting that I can make a difference to someone or somewhere. And... when I mess up. (which happens more frequently than I'd like to relate here) I fall back, once again, on the faith that comes first. The Atonement. So, I believe and trust all over again as I get up, brush myself off, and try again. When I think I am too tired to do one more thing or take one more step, I do anyway because that's when I know I'm in the thick of it and there's one thing I know about myself. I like to be in the thick of the battle of life. I need to be there. Standing still doesn't do it for me. One thing I know is there is more to be learned and more to do, so I keep insisting that God continue to lead me along and show me the way. No matter how daunting and INSANE some of the roads I walk down may seem at first. My view is narrow and limited and so I trust God's guidance, through His Spirit that the feelings, impressions and promptings I get are meant to teach me and help me progress, regardless of the timing or the outcome. And every once in a while, like Abraham, it seems like I'm climbing a mountain to do something I'd rather not do and I don't understand why I'm doing it; an angel is sent at the last possible moment to save me and God lets me know my willingness to obey was enough. So, with faith and gratitude in my heart for all of the angels He has sent and the roads He has led me down and illuminated as I go, I say, bring on the data of that first estate, the experience of this life and the imponderables that will come. Bring it on...

8

  months... remember.

Super abundance

8 days

seek

hope

more

symbol...name

commitment

rebirth

resurrection

exaltation

breathing celestial air

infinity...eternity

How you doin'?

So, if you have problems in your life,

don’t assume there is something wrong with you.

Struggling with those problems is at the very core of

life’s purpose.

As we draw close to God, He will show us our weaknesses

and through them make us wiser, stronger.

If you’re seeing more of your weaknesses,

that just might mean you’re moving nearer to God,

not farther away.”

Bruce C. Hafen, April 2004 General Conference

God, please help Me, help me

Observation 1) God to you: take care of... (fill in the blank) = added ability to do that thing you were asked to do.
Observation 2) God to you: take care of yourself = less added ability until you've had a chance to mess it up big time & learned a lesson.

Conclusion: 1) God wants you to succeed when helping others. 2) God wants you to progress when helping yourself.

Solution: Happiness really does come from helping others.

OR I spend way too much time asking God for help when it comes to helping others and not enough time asking for help when it comes to me.

I don't know if this is right or not. I spend a lot of time cycling through observation 2. Bleh.

It's so hard to see the forest for the trees. I need to hire a helicopter or learn how to fly. Oh, now I see. Yes, yes I do. Someday I may tell you too.

Really, when it all boils down to it, its all the same - its in the doing that is the hard thing & that's when the learning happens. Darn it.

OK, OK, you twisted my arm, I'll tell you. Let's say I'm praying about someone (not me) & God reveals to me, "they need to hear someone (YOU) tell them..." So I think about how hard it will be to tell them ... but I know I must because I know God has revealed it. (if this has never happened to you then try asking. All I know is its what I got when I began asking exactly how can I better follow the Holy Ghost and help those around me) Any way. I do what I know I should do, even though it was hard and I feel great. I wonder if they will do what they are supposed to do, but that is not my concern. At that point, I have done what I was supposed to do & now it is in their court to act on or not. = success for me. Now let's say I am praying about me & what I need. God reaveals to me "do..." Well, ... is hard, not only is it hard, it seems impossible and when I've tried ... I have not done so well at it. Why why why is it so hard to DO something for me I know I should do? Well, I have gained empathy for why others don't DO what they should do... Silver lining = I AM learning, even if I'm still working on the DOING.

"Do it" President Spencer W. Kimball
So much said in so few words.

So ask yourself - what is it God wants you to DO, for you? for others?

One time my mom told me this is a gospel of action. There's no sitting on the sidelines. Once again, she was right.

of philosophy

"There is surely a piece of Divinity in us, something that was before the Elements, and owes no homage unto the Sun. Nature tells me I am the Image of God, as well as Scripture: he that understands not thus much, hath not his introduction or first lesson, and is yet to begin the Alphabet of man."
-Sir Thomas Brown