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!

WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING "YOUR BEST SELF?"

Ok, I need to rant.  Ignore this post if you don't want to "hear" it.  I know that many people won't agree with my thoughts, and that's ok.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR SOCIETY?!?!?!?!
2 examples:
>At any red carpet or celebrity photo shoot anywhere for anything these days, you see more and more revealing clothing.  Most appalling are the completely sheer dresses that have sewn-in doilies to cover the sweet spots.  Also, what is with so many celebs wearing no more than underwear anymore?  Or for a lot more people, not even dressing up for special occasions/appearances?
>A couple of weeks ago, (before the horrid cold) my family was driving home from the grocery store.  On the corner, we saw a teen-ish looking young lady sitting at the corner, holding a cardboard sign that read: "pregnant and need money to pay for rent and food" (!!).  A couple of corners later, at the off ramp for the freeway, we saw a similar-aged young man holding another cardboard sign, asking for money.
>>WHAT HAPPENED TO HEALTHY PRIDE IN ONESELF?  OR DECORUM, OR ACTING APPROPRIATELY, OR TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR ACTIONS?
>>>WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING "YOUR BEST SELF?"
When did it become ok for porn models to walk around in every day society (or at all)?  When did it become popular to dress down?  Do these celebs (and others) really have no respect for themselves? Because that is what this behavior shows.
When did "pushing the envelope" become more the norm than the exception?
Why would a young lady think it ok to use her pregnancy to seek pity and handouts from people?  Her choices are what put her there!  She should have thought about all of the consequences of her actions, and taken responsibility long ago.  Granted, crap happens.  If she genuinely needs help, why is she sitting on the corner begging for money instead of going to one of the MANY organizations there are for people in her (and other) situation(s)?
What happened to the pride of and desire to be able to completely take care of oneself?  What happened to being embarrassed by the thought of asking for help?  What happened to taking responsibility for one's actions and control of one's life?   What happened to busting your butt to get the job done?  Have we no work ethic anymore?  When did our society start putting the blame and responsibility for individual lives on everyone and everything BUT the individual?
Someone I talked to the other day told me that certain situations just make life hard.  I agree.  Especially in this area where I live, where seasonal work and rural-ness(?) cause a lot of hardships and poverty. However, why can't people start planning ahead in order to be prepared for hard times, instead of waiting for them to come, then complaining about them?  Figure out a long-term plan!  I know plenty of very hard-working people who, after many many years, are still not ahead, but they are getting by, even if barely.  It's because they keep at it, day after day.  It may not be their ideal situation, but they are at least living and working, and can feel great about their efforts!
I get that a lot of this has come from people rebelling against so many societal rules and judgements.  We can all be pretty brutal.  It seems no matter how you portray yourself, you can (and probably will) be faulted in some way or another.  But when did it become more popular to have too-low standards than too-high standards?  Why is it more popular to be "bad?"  A lot of us have that rebellious  desire to throw out all the rules.  But has rebellion really become such a life aspiration?
What happened to the desire for accomplishment?  of succeeding at reaching a difficult goal?  of becoming better and better?  Why has our society succumbed to settling?  And to feeling so much entitlement?  No one "owes" us anything!  We deserve to be happy and be loved, it's true.  However, no one can or should be forced to give either of those things to anyone.
I know that I am a naturally judgy person.  I've realized it's because I recognize my faults and weaknesses, and am really working on trying to better myself, and tend to expect the same from others.  I'm naturally lazy, and I'm passive-aggressive.  I'm working on it.  I'm trying to improve myself.  I've learned that I, and all people, mostly just need love.  There's not enough of the real thing going around in the world today.  But when did forced tolerance get put into the same picture?  If a person does not accept and support everyone and everything, that person is intolerant and hateful.  COME ON, NOW!
We can love people AND choose not to support their attitudes and behaviors.  It happens in families all the time!  Anyone ever heard of siblings fighting?  or troubled marriages?  or estranged children/parents?  People are always going to disagree about one thing or another.  It doesn't mean we don't love each other anymore. It doesn't mean that we are all intolerant narcissists.  It does mean that we should work together for the COMMON good.  We should support things/attitudes/behaviors/fads that will better our society, not make it worse.
There is a scriptural account of a group of people who were so peaceful and happy, that they had no warring for more than a century(!!).  How did this happen?  It's because of "the love of God" which was in their hearts.  To love God is to love self and others.  To love others is to serve them.  To serve others is to learn to love them even more.  And the cycle goes on and on, unless LOVE stops being the motivating factor for living.
Now, there are still many really good people.  Many devote their lives to service and trying to better the lives of others.  I know a lot of them, and I love and admire them.  They are who try to make our world better for the next generation.  This is what it is all about!  True love, true service, true tolerance.
****Our society's lack of love is to blame for the wrongs therein.  WE are our society!!  I think most of realy do want the good, but we have been deceived by a very seductive message of selfishness and mediocrity.  We need to start taking responsibility for our actions, and work to fix the wrongs we've allowed to happen.  We need to start loving more and thinking about ourselves less.  We need to set the example of a higher standard.  We need to show that it is good for us to love ourselves and be proud of ourselves and our accomplishments.  We need to make "good" popular again!!  We need to learn that charity, which is the pure love of Christ, is what will fix all of the wrong and bad and ills of our society.  We also need to learn that love is a verb, not just an emotion. 
LOVE IN ACTION IS SERVICE, AND BOTH LEAD ALL TO TRUE HAPPINESS.

Letter to the government

I have somewhat to say unto you by the way of condemnation.
Our people have been suffering greatly, and you have neglected your responsibilities to us.
We desire to know the cause of your thoughtless state.
Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor, while our enemies are spreading the work of death around you?
You have ignored those who have looked up to you for protection-those who have placed you in a situation that you might have succored them-and have withheld provisions from them as they fought for the welfare of this people.
Ye ought to be beloved; ye ought to have stirred yourselves more diligently for the welfare and freedom of this people; but behold, ye have neglected them.
Could ye suppose that ye could sit on your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you?  Behold, if ye have supposed this, ye have supposed in vain.
Do ye suppose that so many of your brethren have perished because of their wickedness?  I say unto you, if ye have supposed this, ye suppose in vain; for I say unto you it is to your condemnation.
"For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgement may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God."
I fear exceedingly that the judgements of God will come upon this people, because of their exceeding slothfulness, yea, even the slothfulness of our government, and their exceedingly great neglect towards their brethren.
For were it not for the wickedness which first commenced at our head, we could have withstood our enemies that they could have gained no power over us.
Yea, had it not been for the war which broke out among ourselves; yea, at the time we were contending among ourselves, if we had united our strength as we have hitherto done; yea, had it not been for the desire of power and authority; had you been true to the cause of our freedom, and united; yea, if we had gone forth against them in the strength of the Lord, we should have dispersed our enemies, for it would have been done, according the fulfilling of His word.
But why should I say much concerning this matter?  For we know not but what ye yourselves are seeking for authority.  We know not but what ye are traitors to your country.
Or is it that ye have neglected us because ye are in the heart of our country and ye are surrounded by security that ye do not strengthen us?
Have ye forgotten the commandments of the Lord your God?  Have ye forgotten the captivity of our fathers?  Have ye forgotten the many times we have been delivered out of the hands of our enemies?
Or do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we sit upon our thrones and do not make use of the means which the Lord has provided for us?
Do ye suppose that God will look upon you as guiltless while ye sit still and behold these things?  Behold I say unto you, Nay.
God has said that the inner vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also.
The time is now at hand, that ye do bestir yourselves in the defense of your country and your little ones, or the sword of justice doth hang over us all.
Ye know that ye do transgress the laws of God, and ye do know that ye do trample them under your feet. 
Behold, the Lord will not suffer very long that ye shall live and wax strong in your iniquities to destroy his righteous people. 
I would that ye should adhere to the word of God.

pride versus humility

So, for many years the Nephite armies fought against the Lamanite armies for lands.  The war commenced because of greed and hunger for power.  Each battle ended with faith in God.  Who started and who ended the battles? 
The Nephite leaders speak of Lamanites being proud of their much strength.  The Nephites were not as strong!  So how did they win so many times?  How were they able to get back their lands and preserve their families and their liberties?

The answer:
The Lamanites trusted in themselves; their strength, their cunning, their ruthlessness.  This got them in trouble, because their pride blinded them and caused them to make mistakes.
The Nephites knew they were nothing without God, and they knew that if they wanted victory, that they had to remain righteous, so that God would be on their side.  In seeking God's help, they received faith and courage and reassurance and wisdom.  This way, they were able to outsmart the Lamanites many times.  Note:  they rarely beat them by force. 
The Nephites relied on God to help them fight their battles, and they came out victorious!!!

More on those perfect guys...

Helaman considered them "worthy to be called my sons."

They fought with the strength of God.

They did "obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness."

After two big battles, many Nephites had fallen, but NONE of the sons had died!!  Many had serious wounds, but they all lived. 
Helaman attributes this to "the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith.."

"Their minds are FIRM, and they do put their TRUST in God continually."

"and the Lord has supported them, yea, and kept them from falling by the sword, insomuch that even one soul has not been slain.  But behold, they have received many wounds; nevertheless they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his statutes and his judgements, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come."

obey with exactness...firm minds...trust God continually...strict to remember God...strong faith 
.....
These are the things that I can learn from those stripling warriors, and try to be like them!

excuses

King Ammoron, of the Lamanites, inquires of Moroni if they can trade prisoners.
Moroni sends back an epistle, telling Ammoron that he will only trade if he can have one man along with his wife and children for one Lamanite man.  He also condemns Ammoron for his wicked and murderous pursual of the enslavement of the Nephites. 
Ammoron responds by accepting the trade, but denying his condemnation. He claims that he is merely attempting to right an injustice done tohis brethren generations ago by the Nephite ancestors.  He claims that they stole the governing role from his ancestors and subjected them to bondage. 
Moroni is angry!  He knows that Ammoron knows that the only reason they are at war is because his brother, Amalickiah, the former king, was power hungry.  They both know that the true reason for the war is that Amalickiah had wanted to overthrow the free government of the Nephites so he could become king, and the voice of the people out-voted him.  He waged war because he wanted to enslave the Nephites who wouldn't let him rule them before.  The "previous wrongs" excuse was only used to try to incite the Lamanites so they would go against the Nephites. 
Moroni refuses to trade prisoners, because he doesn't want to allow the Lamanites to gain more strength to their army.  He decides to just take his prisoners back without a trade.

How many wars have been fought throughout history because someone has harbored a grudge for way too long?  Or because someone wanted power over someone else?  Or because someone wanted another's land or property?  Anger and envy are very dangerous emotions!!!  If only people could reason logically and choose to love rather than hate!  But then again, I guess that would be a utopian society, and we would no longer need this mortal experience as a test. 
On the other hand, I wonder how many wars have been prevented because someone chose to love and forgive, turning the other cheek for peace.
I am grateful for scriptures, that I can learn from the mistakes and successes of the past.  Hopefully I can live my life like those righteous Nephite leaders of old, and "look to God and live."  Because really, one only truly lives if one has love!