Seek The Lord Often

 There are some days when we're just not feeling it. Sometimes we feel that all the cute churchy answers are nice on the outside but that they're really not going to make anything better. Sometimes it feels like wishful thinking. It seems weak.  At times I just want to rest in God's love. I just want to feel my Savior next to me. Sometimes I feel him there. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes there's a lot of negativity towards and around the church. And sometimes I can see why. I do see some things that are troubling. What I always hang on to is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost I've been given. I know that sounds cheesy to some. They don't think it's a real thing. But I have felt peace so many times through the Holy Ghost. I've felt him tell me that Jesus says, "It's all gonna be ok. Just trust. Be patient. Ponder. Let go. Know that I've already paid the price. You don't need to prove anything to me...

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 shou...

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...