Thoughts from the week...

Again, breaking tradition here. I have usually stuck with one topic when writing, but this week, I am going to just write about things that have been on my mind.


First, pride. I watched a video this week that highlighted and reminded me that pride is the "universal sin" in the words of President Ezra Taft Benson. Yep. I can testify the truthfulness of that statement. I struggle with pride all the time. From comparing myself to others, to not celebrating the success of others, to not being grateful. Its all there. So, what can I do? Well, I pray a lot. I have heard it said that the first step to recovery is recognition that there is a problem. When it comes to pride, I seem to constantly be made aware of my pride. I call on my Heavenly Father for help and He hears me and assists me in the challenges I face. I also try to be more grateful. I find this to be a great antidote for pride. Being grateful lifts me and it lifts the person I thank. In the spirit of gratitude, thank you for reading this!

Second, the power of the scriptures. President Russell M. Nelson has said, ""In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, and comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost." I believe that to be true. These are hard times we live in. Between the pandemic, racial injustices, riots, individual spiritual, physical, or emotional concerns and a host of other trials, life is hard. But, when I study in the scriptures, I feel the Holy Ghost's presence. One of the names and roles of the Holy Ghost is "comforter." I feel comforted when I read the word of God in the scriptures. There have been many times when what I read correlates with what is going on in my life. For instance, those thoughts about pride came as I was reading about a prophet named Jacob who was teaching his people about pride.

Last thought. Prayer. I pray every day. But the nature of my prayers is not always as sincere as I would like for it to be. Especially when I am tired, I find that my prayers are lacking the conviction and communication that I would like them to be. Heavenly Father loves us all and I know He hears every prayer I utter. But I wonder about myself listening to Him. I often speak a prayer and talk at or to God, but what about listening? What about what He wants to share with me? I get to say my piece, but what about His piece? Or should I say His peace? I am going to share a video that struck me this week regarding prayer and provides a good contrast between two very differing prayers. The part of the video that stands out to me the most is when the man in the video points out that too often today, people are trying to be loud so that others can hear them, rather than seeking to have their prayers heard by God. What a difference it would make to pray more to God.

The wonderful thing for this week is that in spite of my pride and imperfect prayers, I can rest assured that the Lord is there. He loves me and whenever I turn to Him, He listens to me.

 Here's the video I referenced earlier. Have a wonderful week!!

Wisdom

Today I would like to speak about wisdom. I think this stems from a recent reading of James 1:5 where it states:“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
What is wisdom exactly? Well, according to the dictionary: “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.” I think that is very interesting. By this definition, it is possible to have wisdom in many different areas, but not all are good. I like that it includes “good judgment” as part of the definition.
Today while speaking with my mom, she talked about being wise.  This reminded me of Jacob’s exhortation in Jacob 4:12- “O be wise, what can I say more?” I believe that being wise and having wisdom are interrelated. And I believe that exercising wisdom can lead a person to become more wise because experience is an element of gaining wisdom.
Joseph Smith spoke to his mother after his experience in the sacred grove. When asked by his mother what the matter was, he replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off…I have learned for myself…” (Joseph Smith—History 1: 20). That is a pattern for learning and gaining wisdom. Joseph had a question; he studied it, talked with others about it, and then sought answers to that question. In the course of his search, he came across that verse in James which I have quoted previously, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” God is the greatest source of wisdom. It therefore makes sense to seek His help in finding the wisdom we lack.
 In Moses 1:39 we read: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” God wants what is best for us. He wants for us to return to live with Him, but even more than this, is His desire for us to want to live with Him. Elder Renlund said: “Our Heavenly Father’s goal in parenting is not to have His children do what is right; it is to have His children choose to do what is right and ultimately become like Him.” I know that Heavenly Father loves all of us as His children. He gives us the opportunity to be here on the earth and to make decisions. It is our opportunity to learn from those experiences and thereby, gain wisdom and become more wise.
Heavenly Father is helping us every step of the way. It is because of His son Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice that we can become more wise. Elder Lynn G. Robbins said: “Our success, then, isn’t going from failure to failure, but growing from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm.” I believe that because of Jesus Christ, we can grow from failure to failure and become what the Lord wants us to become. He loves us very much and I know He is pulling with us and helping us as we seek to gain wisdom and become wise.