Check Out The Sun!

One day as I was walking home from the bus stop, I came across a woman standing on a corner with her child in a stroller. As I was approaching her, she called out to me, pointing at the sun, "Hey, check out the sun! Isn't it bright and silver?!" I replied, "Probably, I can't look at it directly." Then she said "There's God! It's too bright, huh?"
Aside from my astonishment at her willingness to look directly at the sun, I was intrigued by what she said. "There's God! It's too bright, huh?" Yet she was looking directly at it.

While the sun is too bright to look at without the possibility of causing damage to your eyes, we can liken the "sun" to the "Son." Sometimes we take for granted the teachings of the Church and don't pay much attention to the details. We often don't realize how glorious the Gospel is unless we look directly into the light.
Daily scripture study is a great way to focus on the light of Christ. Also praying to God the Father in Jesus' name, going to church regularly, all great ways to follow the light. Following in His footsteps, namely, performing charity, showing the pure love of Christ, is the icing on the cake. If we keep the commandments and strive daily to become more like Him, we will never lose sight of the "sun," and we will more often appreciate the light He shines on us all.
Let's take a lesson from this woman, and "Check out the sun" more often. It may seem too "bright" or too much for us to handle at times, but by doing so, we will be able to say without hesitation, "There's God!" and we will have Him as our constant companion as we continue on in our journey to exaltation.

Spiritual Adhesive

An adhesive is something that, when used properly, causes one thing to adhere, or stick, to another. Today at work, my boss was talking about the adhesive that's on the stickers we put on the boxes that our product goes in. She was saying that the adhesive is really strong, and it has to be to be able to ensure that the box stays sealed shut. But sometimes, on certain boxes, if we have to peel a sticker off, it pulls part of the box off with it because of how sticky it is.

Our Heavenly Father has given us the most powerful adhesive in existence. The Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ. When we apply the Atonement in our lives,it works as the binding agent that seals us to Him for Eternity, or allows us to return to His presence. When we use the Atonement incorrectly, or try to remove its effect from our lives by ignoring its importance, minimizing its necessity, or even justifying ourselves by thinking that the Atonement takes away all responsibility from us, it becomes insufficient for us, and does not cover those sins we do not repent of. Jesus has said "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10)

With the stickers at work, I can pull them off the box easily if I want, but the box won't stay sealed shut. In the same way, we can choose not to adhere to, or keep God's commandments, but the Atonement won't have any effect on us. We have the ability to choose to follow or not to follow God, because of agency. But the only way to ensure that the power and mercy of the Atonement has full effect in our lives is to follow Him who made the Atoning sacrifice for us.

Let Your (Pilot) Light So Shine

I was supposed to go to work tonight. I didn't, and it led to Jessi and I being available to serve when we were needed.

We were at Deseret Book buying some late Valentine's gifts for each other when Jessi informed me that she was experiencing symptoms of exhaustion that she'd been experiencing for a couple days. I was supposed to leave for work within an hour, but I told her that we needed to get her to the InstaCare immediately because her symptoms shouldn't last for that long. So I called my work and explained the situation. We got to the InstaCare and I decided to take the kids to the Crisis Nursery so that I could focus my attention on caring for Jessi. By the time I got back she was ready to go get the medicine they gave her the prescription for. We stopped a couple of other places on the way home and by the time we got home Jessi was feeling exhausted and not all there because of her medicine. She was about to fall asleep and I was doing laundry when we heard a knock on our door. It was the neighbor asking if we knew how to light a pilot light, because theirs had gone out. Our neighbor is a single mom who had disabled kids, and being wintertime still, being in a cold house all night could have been dangerous for them. Jessi got up out of bed, feeling just fine as if she had never been exhausted, and we both went next door to see what we could do to help. Jessi had lit our pilot light before, but I'd never done it. After watching a couple of YouTube videos on my phone we noticed directions on the furnace explaining how to light the pilot light. We thought we figured out where it was, and we tried to light it, but nothing was happening, and we were getting kind of frustrated. Our neighbor resorted to calling the landlord and telling him she needed help lighting the pilot light because it had gone out. But to her dismay, the landlord said he couldn't make it over to help until the morning. After venting for a few minutes about how disgusted we were with the situation, we started over following the directions again, and Jessi said a quick prayer for help lighting it. After she said the prayer, we followed the last of the instructions, and with a little patience, the pilot light glowed, and they once again had heat in their house. After we got back home, Jessi started feeling exhausted again, and we marveled at how, for the short time we were at the neighbor's house helping them, she felt just fine.

If Jessi hadn't needed to go to the InstaCare, if I hadn't missed work, I wouldn't have been home and Jessi would have been asleep when the neighbor knocked on our door, and they would have been stuck in a cold house all night. The medical condition Jessi has and our decision to take her to the InstaCare started a domino effect that ultimately led to us being available when we were needed. I know that it's no coincidence that Jessi felt fine while we were there helping.

The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways. Even the most uncomfortable, the most depressing, the most painful or embarrassing experiences may in fact be leading you to where God wants you to be. All you need to do is trust Him.

To Give Or Not To Give

While I was at work one day, someone came through the drive thru, ordered 2 sandwiches and a drink, and then pulled over and gave it to a homeless man on the sidewalk. I thought that was pretty neat, and I shared it on Facebook. Here's my post.

"Guy buys 2 sandwiches and a drink at Wendy's and gives it to a homeless guy on the sidewalk. Matthew 25:40 in action."

One of my friends made a comment that got me thinking. Not that I agreed with his comment, or could be persuaded in my thinking by it, but it got the wheels in my mind turning a little. Here's his comment.

"I will get them food, but I refuse to give them money. I have a friend who owns a drywall business, and everytime he sees someone with a sign, he pulls his work truck over and invites them to get in and work for the day and he offered them $25/hour for a days work. He has yet to have one take him up on the offer."

Now, I don't always have food to give, or time to get food to give, so whenever I see someone holding a sign or in need, I give them money if I have it. But I've never thought about refusing to give money unless they worked for it first. That got me thinking, what would the Savior expect us to do?

I'm sure we've all read the dozens and dozens of scriptures that tell how blessed we will be if we consider the poor. The Scriptures are filled with counsel concerning this matter, and it always seems to say "give to the poor and I will give to you." But should there be a condition on whether we give or not? Should we verify that they've earned, or that they deserve what we have to give before we give it to them?

Mosiah 4
19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

Did God verify that we deserved everything we have before He gave it to us? No, He simply gave it out of love. But does that mean He expects us to do the same? What about those who choose not to work, or choose to take the easy way out by sitting on a corner with a sign collecting thousands of dollars a year while the rest of us are working to earn a living? Jesus died for sinners, not because He had to, but because He chose to out of love. Did the men who crucified Him deserve for Him to plead with the Father to forgive them? Heck no, but He did it anyway. So what does the Savior expect us to do?

John 13
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

But what does this have to do with giving to those who may or may not be in need? Remember Mosiah 4:19, we're all beggars, and He gives to us regardless. Well, here's the context of that scripture.

16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
17 Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just
18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.
22 And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.
23 I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world.

Bottom line, if God gives us what we need whether we deserve it or not, whether we work for it or not, what right do we have to deny the beggar when we have means to give? God doesn't make us work for him before he gives us the things we need, and all He asks of us is to do the same for each other. "Love one another as I have loved you" literally means love regardless whether you feel they deserve it, just as He did for us.

Note: To those Bible believing Christians who might overlook the Scriptures I listed simply because most of them are from the Book of Mormon, which your don't consider scripture, I encourage you to do a quick search for "Poor" in your Bible, and you will see many verses that clearly say the same things I listed from the Book of Mormon. The only difference is the Book of Mormon goes into greater depth to give a better understanding of the subject. No matter what book of Scripture you look in, you'll find that Jesus did not say to give only what and when you feel is deserved, but rather to give selflessly, not for gain, and not expecting anything in return.

Matthew 25
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.