Charity

"Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever;

...and charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

Moroni recorded a sermon that his father Mormon, the prophet, gave to the people of Christ's church:

Mormon speaks to "the peaceable followers of Christ, (who) have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord." 

 "Remember God's word "by their works ye shall know them." This is how I have judged you.  Good men will do good works.  Evil men cannot do good works, because it is only counted good if a man does his works with real intent of heart.

Followers of the devil can't be followers of Christ, and followers of Christ can't be followers of the devil.

All good comes from God; all evil comes from the devil.  Everything that makes you want to do good is inspired of God.  No good comes from the devil, and no evil comes form God.  Make sure that you don't judge wrongfully between from where good and evil things come.  

 'For behold.. it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge as the daylight is from the dark night.  For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man that he may know good form evil.'

Do not judge wrongfully, or condemn good, because how you judge is how you will be judged.

 'Search diligently in the light of Christ' to know good from evil.

 'Lay hold upon every good thing' by having faith in Christ, and then cleave unto those good things.

 'Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me...repent..come unto me..be baptized in my name..have faith in me, that ye may be saved.'

--God will show you if all of this is true.

Miracles still abound and angels still minister to men as long as men have faith in Christ, because these operate on faith.

*No person can be saved without having faith in Christ--one must hope for eternal life through Christ's atonement--need faith in Christ first--can't have faith and hope unless one is meek and lowly of heart--if one has all these things, this person has charity--one must have charity or amount to nothing.

**CHARITY NEVER FAILETH, so CLEAVE UNTO CHARITY!!

--'whoso is found to be possessed of (charity) at the last day, it shall be well with him.'

*Pray to our Heavenly Father 'with all the energy of heart,' that you can be filled with charity."

My take:

I must have good works if I want to return to God.  

I've been given the way (it's as plain as light and dark!!) and ability to properly judge good from evil, so I have the responsibility to do so.  

I need to seek and embrace good and shun and condemn evil, and be sure not to turn that around; because I know: good will always be good and come from God, and evil will always be evil and come from the devil, despite what society says.  

So, If I will "lay hold" on every good thing, through faith in Christ, and cleave unto those good things,

-If I have faith in Christ so miracles can abound and angels can minister to

 me and others and share the gospel through the power of the Holy Ghost,

-If I have faith in Christ so I can have "power to do whatsoever thing is

 expedient,"

-If I repent, come unto Christ, get baptized in his name, have faith in him, 

-If I have hope to gain eternal life through the atonement of Christ, and faith

 in Christ's atonement, and meekness and lowliness of heart, 

-If I earnestly pray to God and seek for charity, and cleave unto it, 

--Then I will be saved through Christ's atonement, and will enjoy eternal life 

   in God's kingdom, and become like Him.

Seems like a good deal to me, especially if I get charity in the process!

Commandment # 4: Keep the Sabbath day holy

Isaiah 58:13-14
"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing they pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
See also:  Ex. 31: 13, 16-17; Matt. 12: 12; Mark 2: 27; Moses 3: 3

Why is this Sabbath observance a commandment?  We read in Exodus 31:13 "it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."  So, the Sabbath was sanctified and made for us (Mark 2:27) to thank and worship our God.

Why has it become so hard for people to follow this simple commandment?
I get that lots of sports are played on Sunday, and community events often times land on that day. Participation in these things is up to individuals and families, I suppose.
However, what happened to no working on the Sabbath?  It seems that very few stores are closed on Sundays anymore.  They even look to this day as a major moneymaker, because so many people choose to shop on this day.  But why?  Why can't we all fit our errands and chores into the other days, so we can truly take Sunday off?  Is it so difficult to completely take a day off from work?  Have we molded our lives such that we can't, or don't know how, to take a break?  We have plenty of family time to spend, and countless acts of service to provide.  Sunday should be reserved for these things only!

I know that many people speculate on how we should really interpret "keeping the Sabbath holy."  The answer is in the above scriptures.  "Not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure" on the Sabbath means doing things that would please our Heavenly Father and benefit his kingdom.
We have been told by prophets that shopping and recreational activities are out.  We've also been told to use the day for service and study.  Some would argue that doing service can be harder work than what we usually do.  However, service is for someone else, and thus done for God rather than self.  Service can be exhausting, but somehow, one feels recharged afterward, rather than depleted.  We feel good!  (Because we are being blessed for the act!!)  Service is selfless, and selflessness is service!
Some even choose to keep Sunday an electronics-free day, other than for the use of studying or contacting people.  We can live a day without facebook/twitter/instagram, the news, shows, games, texting, etc.
Many other worthy things can fill our Sundays: studying, journalling, letter writing (especially to missionaries who are away from their families), phone calls to family members, listening to beautiful and uplifting music, one-on-one time with children, board games, treat making, and the list goes on!
And don't forget that Sunday is meant to be a day of rest, so fit a nap in there!  Have some good snuggle time with your loved ones!
Do only activities that you can do together!  Have a testimony meeting.  Have a gratitude share.  Tell each other about the ups and downs of the week. Study together.  Plan something you can do for a neighbor or elderly person. Make a family bucket list.  
Play together and pray together!

Ultimately, saving a whole day for just worship and service and family time can only bless us and make us better!  We will reap the rewards for strengthening relationships and supporting others.  Our families will grow closer as we serve together and spend quality time together.  And we desperately need that in this crazy, distracting, fast-paced world that we live in!!

So, we are promised blessings when we are obedient.  What are we promised for sabbath observance?  That Isaiah scripture tells us this, too!  We will ride upon the high places of the earth and be fed of Jacob's heritage.  What does this mean?   I had to study it out.. To me, it means that we will be a favored people of the Lord, and we will receive the same inheritance as Jacob, or Israel.  The Lord will guide us and provide for us as long as we make the sacrifice of our time in honoring Him.

So, here's a challenge:
Just for one day, this coming Sunday, choose to engage in god-centered acts all day long.  See if you can involve family members in everything you do for one day only.  Try it, and wait for the outcome.  It may be foreign and awkward and weird at first, but keep it up.  It'll be worth it, I promise.  You may find that you learn new things about family members, and you enjoy their company more!  And then, you may choose to do the challenge the next week, and the next.  Then you may find your family looking forward to Sunday and thriving on that time and attention. You'll find that your little family unit will be strengthened, because you all feel loved and happy.  God's spirit will fill your home, and peace will reside therein.  Wins all around!