{P} Ask someone to read the following…
"A group of youth in Queen Creek, Arizona, determined to “arise
and shine forth” and to lead the youth in their community in living the
standards inFor the Strength of Youth. They each wrote
something that they felt was holding them back or something they wanted to
change in their lives in their journals, and then they literally dug a hole.
They came together, tore out the journal page, and threw it into the hole in
the earth, just like the people of Ammon did in the Book of Mormon with their
weapons of war. 12Then they buried those
pages, and that day they each made a commitment to change. They repented. They
determined to arise!
Do you have something in your life that you need to change? You
can do this. You can repent because of the Savior’s infinite atoning sacrifice.
He made it possible for you and me to change, to become pure and clean again,
and to become like Him. And He has promised that when we do, He will remember
our sins and mistakes no more. 13
Several weeks ago I stood in the celestial room of the Reno
Nevada Temple. The light streaming into that room was brilliant and was made
even more so by the crystal chandelier, which reflected the light on its many
carved facets into rainbows of illumination everywhere. It took my breath away
as I realized that the Savior is “the light and the life of the world,” 16 that it is His light we must hold up and reflect. We are the tiny crystals that reflect His light,
and in order to do that, we must be clean and free from the dust of the world."
{P?} Does anything come to mind when Sister Dalton was talking about repentance, change and giving up
things that hold us back? When she used
the word dust I thought of something that gradually accumulates over time. Little by little. If we think about this in terms of repentance
the “dust” can be little and seemingly
harmless choices that add up and weigh you down.
{P} 50 lb back pack—Need a
volunteer to come carry this. What do
you think? How does it feel? Can you run across the room?
I want to tell you about some choices that added up and that
I carried around for a long time.
Turning to food instead of turning to the Lord, disregarded
when full, kept eating, wasn’t exercising.
Little by little I gained more and more.
Years of overeating and neglect led to being obese.
**This isn’t a lesson about weight loss, being physically
fit or even health. It’s about the
choices we make each day and the way that they add up. It’s a lesson about the opportunity that
Christ gives each of us to change. It’s
about God taking us where we’re at and helping us make changes even when they
seem impossible to make. **
I want to share a few things that I recently posted on my
blog. As I read it I want you to think
of how it applies to our spiritual fitness and health.
"Over the last few months I have often thought of the weight
I have lost and can't believe the burden I was carrying around. {at this point}
it's almost 50 lbs. Just think of hauling a 50 lb. back pack around. Imagine
even carrying around a 25 lb pack. That's a ton of weight and it takes its toll
As I've gone along I have really become a firm believer that
"by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Alma
37:6) I realized that my often black and white thinking was wrong. I could no
longer see my health in two extremes: overweight or ideal. I had to realize
that there was a spectrum of progress and that each step in the right direction
was a victory....AND that each step in that direction would ultimately lead me
to my goal. It's also been a beautiful testimony to me of repentance. That even
though we may mean no harm by the choices we make, that ultimately we are
accountable for them. And that it does mean turning from those choices and one
step at a time walking away from them. It takes time, BUT it is possible and it
is liberating!.celebrate all the victories! One pound is not insignificant
(pick up a pound of butter and realize that there is that much less of you to
have to carry around ;0)), especially when it's half of the allotted weight
your supposed to safely lose a week! It's great...it's exciting! By small and
simple things do great things come to pass. By small yet significant choices we
turn from our old ways and find better ways of doing things."
Let’s open
our scriptures to a well-known analogy.
As we read this I want you to be thinking of this idea that by small and
simple things (choices, steps) do great things come to pass. And remember that progress is NOT black or
white…progress is a process.
{P} Read Tree of Life (1 nephi 8)
5 And it came to pass that I saw a aman, and he was dressed in a
white brobe; and he came and stood
before me.
8 And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in
darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would haveamercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.
I don’t
know about you but I’ve read about Lehi’s dream dozens of times. Once time I read it while on my mission and
something stood out to me.
1 {P} Notice that Lehi is first in darkness…and traveled in
darkness for many hours. What does he do next? (see
verse 8) He prays. What
happens next? (see
verses 9 and 10) He sees a large field
and sees a tree. What really stood out to me is that Lehi wasn’t instantly at
the tree. Even after praying he sees it
off in the distance. So it is with our spiritual
journeys. We may feel at times
surrounded with darkness, weighed down by poor decisions, neglect, laziness,
procrastination, bad habits, negative thoughts…but with the Lord’s help and
mercy He can lead us away from those things AND bring us into the light and
help us feel of His love.
Anything in between is not good enough. It's definitely a debilitating mentality
because it doesn't allow you room to change.
Anyway something inside of me switched and helped me see weight loss
differently. Losing 1 lb. is a success,
as is 2...5...10...50...60! They are all
valuable and worth celebrating. I can
transfer that mentality to repentance, parenthood, etc. I don't need to say, either I'm...
With that passage of scripture still in mind I want to read
to you a journal entry I wrote last August.
It was key paradigm shift I had that help me to feel capable of changing...
" I realized that one of my stumbling blocks for losing
weight has been seeing things as black and white. I'm either...
overweight (black) OR
ideal weight (white).
monster mom (black)
OR perfect mom (white)
I I can see where I'm at and move forward from there. What is a more realistic step forward?"
{P?} I want each of us to ask our self this question, “which area in my life could I use some
progress and growth? What is the NEXT
step in the right direction?”
*Don’t
forget to pray, pray from the heart. (Alma 37:36-37) The Lord takes us from
where we’re at. We may feel completely
helpless, that’s OK, tell Him, talk to Him…He can help!
·
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Heber J. Grant overcame many of his weaknesses
and turned them into talents. He had as his motto these words: “That which we
persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing
is changed, but that our power to do is increased”
We CAN turn from our old ways of doing things and change one step, one choice at a time. Change is possible through Christ. All things are possible through Christ! Philipians 4:13 I can do all things through aChrist which bstrengtheneth me.
We CAN turn from our old ways of doing things and change one step, one choice at a time. Change is possible through Christ. All things are possible through Christ! Philipians 4:13 I can do all things through aChrist which bstrengtheneth me.
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