Seek The Lord Often

I wonder if to some it feels counterintuitive that you can find long-lasting joy and exaltation by just “doing what you’re told” and keeping the commandments.  It sometimes seems like you could potentially be happier by just living “your truth” or doing whatever makes you happy in the moment. We aren’t forced to do anything. We are only invited. We make covenants of our own free will and choice. We can keep them and see if it makes us happier. I wonder if some people keep them (or at least say they are keeping them) and don’t ever feel that true joy. If so, how can that be? Why is that? Perhaps we aren’t even promised joy. Maybe we just THINK we are promised joy. Reviewing our covenants might be informative there. I know that Elder Chrisofferson has said that keeping covenants brings joy in this life. Maybe there’s a difference between joy and happiness. Can't we find joy doing other things that aren't necessarily in line with the commandments of God? Like couldn't I find j

 This is sucah a powerful chapter. Verse 7 stood out to me. "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

I was reading today and I was struck by how the Lord doesn't turn anyone away. I feel that as church members, perhaps we have turned some of our gay brothers and sisters away. The Lord hasn't commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation. On conditions of repentance. All men are privileged the same. NONE are forbidden. All are alike unto God 2 Nephi 26   25   Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith:   a Come  unto me all ye  b ends  of the earth,  c buy  milk and honey, without money and without price. 26  Behold, hath he commanded any that they should  a depart  out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. 27  Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his  a salvation ? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath  b given  it free for  all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to  c repentance . 28  Behold, hath the Lord comman

Planes are the ultimate meditation space. The best place to escape the earth, quite literally. In the clouds, your thoughts can be free from the bustle of life on the ground. Here you can ponder. You can pray. You can put your deepest desires out into the universe or up to your God. Here you can open a window to your heart and soul and leave behind the shackles that chain you to your electronics and ofttimes stress-inducing obligations. Wi-Fi is hard to come by. Inspiration and pondering though are right within your grasp. The veil between heaven and earth within your mind can be thin if you open your being and allow yourself to feel. Reach into your very soul and voice your greatest desires silently in a plea to your maker. He knows you better than you know yourself. But he still wants to hear from you. You will never be too much for God. He will always listen and he has infinite patience. While your fixations and worries may weary others, they will never weary your father in heaven.

 I've been pondering a lot about how hard it is for me to wrestle with the fact that those who are gay are not able to marry those they love. That they cannot be saved in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom and be married to someone of their same sex. I've asked myself how a loving God could send anyone to earth gay and then make a plan that excludes them from exaltation. That does not seem fair. How are we to fully love someone and accept them if our very doctrine excludes them? Perhaps this is our Abrahamic trial. He was asked to sacrifice his son even though he didn't know why. He was obedient and went through. Only when he was about to kill his son was he stopped. Sometimes the things God asks us to uphold and believe may not seem logical. Perhaps that is the case with the church's stance on gay marriage. 2 Nephi 25:24-26 24  And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we  a keep  the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the la

 I have heard many say that the church doesn't allow enough diversity and that it doesn't allow people to be themselves. To be honest, I have felt the same way at times. I have wondered why we don't allow more differences in appearance and sexuality. Why is it a problem for a member of a bishopric to have a well-kept beard? Why can those who are gay not feel they have hope of exaltation? Why have church leaders been so adamantly against them? Why has it felt like it's degraded into personal attacks? Are people really born gay? Is being gay just part of someone's mortal experience? Is it possible that the Lord's ways are "higher" than our ways even when they often seem lower when looked at objectively? Examples: Blacks and the Priesthood, polygamy, gays. Or are mortal beings who are running the Church of Jesus Christ just making mistakes? These are some gut-wrenching and soul-searching questions. And I don't pretend to have the answers. Are we just