Skip to main content

Which Cross Have I Been Given to Bear?

Maybe the cross I've been given is riches and prosperity. Heavenly Father wants to see what I will do with the time and money I've been given. He wants to see if I will use my resources to help and serve others around me. He has given me a calling to care for the brothers in the ward and ensure everyone is taken care of. He wants me to understand and bear others burdens. He wants me to help those who are struggling.

That's what the priesthood or order of the son of God is. It's about turning outward and lifting others. It's about service and selflessness instead of self-serving and selfishness.

There are so many distractions and bright shiny objects all around. I can spend my time and money on so many different things. I can continually buy the latest video games or sports cards or other fun things for myself. Or I could use my means and time to help other people. That's what it's all about. It's not just a thing I do. It should be my main focus. It's hard to do that. Especially in a world where everyone is looking out for themselves. Social media is a very individual, selfish matter. But helping others also isn't as hard as we think. It just takes some humility, prayer, and a shift in focus.

It starts with a desire to change and a pleading to God for that help to do so. That's what I want.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Cave of Mental Illness

This is an essay I wrote in the Winter 2014 Semester for my Western Humanities class. I felt like I needed to share it. It is a bit long, but I assure you it's worth your time. Also, take some time to watch the quick video at the end. Jacob Hansen Professor Julie Ransom IHUM 201 Connection to Major 10 April 2014 The Cave of Mental Illness A mere seven months ago I had a different perception of reality. I found myself, as psychologist Kay Jamison puts it, “ enmeshed totally in the blackest caves of the mind ” (68). I, like Jamison, suffer from bipolar disorder. I was diagnosed about twenty months into my mission. Though I was in this cave, during the manic episode I experienced I felt more creative and energetic than I ever had. I felt little need to sleep and could think and make connections very quickly. I understood the world differently than others, and, so I thought, at a higher level. It was as if I had discovered a new revolutionary way of living and I was conf...
3 comments
Read more

On Equality and Inclusion

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hate Garments? Think About the Spit and Clay

I'm just gonna say it—I don't enjoy temple garments. They are uncomfortable, pricy, ugly, and just weird. That said, I believe. I believe God wants to protect me and give me a reminder that my Savior literally has me covered. Everywhere. All the time. Elder Holland's talk from the October 2025 General Conference hit me hard.  He said this: "Another truth that is evident here are the instruments the Creator of heaven and earth and all that in them are used to provide this miracle: spit and a handful of dirt! These very unlikely ingredients declare that God can bless us by whatever method He chooses. Like Naaman resisting the River Jordan or the children of Israel refusing to look at the serpent on the staff, how easy it is for us to dismiss the source of our redemption because the ingredients and the instruments seem embarrassingly plain."  It really made sense to me, and it's my testimony that God uses "embarrassingly plain" things to protect us a...
Post a Comment
Read more