I am a missionary from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from Nevada! I love being a missionary and I love being able to meet people in New York. I am serving in the western New York area for two years.
One Restored truth we learn from The Restoration of The Gospel is that marriage between man and a woman is ordained of God and it lasts past this life and goes on into the eternities. This union between man and woman for eternity is made possible throuh the preisthood power which can bind us. Jeus Christ gave his apostles this power (Matthew 18:18). However after centuries this true doctrine of Eternal marriage was lost. The Bible is full of the true Doctrine of Eternal Marriage and Eternal Families (Mark 10:9, 1 Corinthians 11:11, Genesis 2:24). It has been clarified even more through the Restoration of the Gospel. Families can be together forever. The power to bind on earth has been restored again. All of these blessings are to be had within the walls of the Holy Temple. It's not till death do you part! Watch the clip below of these happy eternal couples.
When we want to increase our physical strength we lift weights so we can become ripped! I try to do this every morning from 6:30 to 7:00 and you can see how it has benefited me by the picture to the right. It takes a lot of work, but eventually we can reach the desired result we have been longing for. We become stronger and not to mention better looking. It's really quite simple, lift weights and get strong. Then we can lift and bear very heavy weights.
So is there some way that we can become strengthened in our resolve to resist the temptations of the adversary? How can we prepare to be stronger spiritually when a heavy temptation is placed upon our backs? Our Heavenly Father has given us something we can do that is like spiritual weight lifting. This is called fasting! Now you might say "how can starving yourself increase my desire to not do bad things." You might even think when you are hungry it gets you in a bad mood and more vulnerable to temptation.
But when we fast what we are doing is abstaining from our natural desire to eat and drink. We are avoiding doing something that we really want to do. We are giving our will to our Heavenly Father and making a sacrifice. Most of the sins that we commit from day to day are natural desires that can be difficult for us to obey. Unlike food, we have been told to try and avoid these things all of the time. Things like alcohol, pornography, and pride. To our natural and fallen state and also in the world today, these things may seem acceptable and even desirable. They can at times be difficult to resist. But we must put our trust in God and try to resist them. Our ability to resist temptation can be strengthened as we fast. We show that we have complete control over our choices and have our free will. Our Heavenly Father can bless us us with added with spiritual strength. We demonstrate complete control over our natural desires and our carnal nature. This is like weight lifting for when those other strong temptations come, that can help us maintain our free will and not fall captive to the traps of the Devil. So if you don't feel like you have control over yourself, fast! Your body can have bad desires and be your enemy at times so show it who's boss!
So we always hear that nobody is perfect. That is because each of us people living on earth in our fallen state are going to make mistakes. We sin and that sin separates us from our Heavenly Father ( Romans 3:23). However because Jesus Christ suffered for our sins there is a way possible for us to be cleansed from them. This way is often referred to as The Gospel of Jesus Christ. One essential element for this is repentance( Doctrine and Covenants 19:15-19).
How do we repent? Well the first step to repentance is to recognize that what we are doing is a violation of our Heavenly Father's commandments. We must realize we are sinning. We must feel sincere sorrow for our sins and want to change. This realization will lead us to stop breaking the commandment or law of our Heavenly Father and strive to never break it again. We have to confess our sins to our Heavenly Father and ask for his mercy and forgiveness. Also if our sin harmed another person we should ask him or her for forgiveness. We have to try and correct the harm that our sin or transgression may have caused. Then we have to continually strive to keep the commandments. As we keep them throughout our lives we will see they are not restrictions to our freedom, but actually increase our freedom and help us to change our hearts and make us better people. Last we have to continually remember in our lives continually Jesus Christ who makes this all possible. Then when we are Baptized we are able to take full of advantage of repentance and be Baptized for the remission of sins and then receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. If we are already baptized we take the Sacrament each week to renew our Baptismal Covenants and try to get better each week. This is a life long process that purifies us from our sin and prepares us to enter back into the presence of our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. A young man Enos from The Book of Mormon understood these things. Read his story and see how it can bless your life.
(The Book of Enos)
In mortality we are given agency or the ability to choose. The choices we make in this life affect where we will be in the next. We choose what it is as we desire as human beings generally. But when we come to understand The Gospel of Jesus Christ our Desire can change.
-Elder Teichert
Why is Baptism important? Well Jesus Christ himself taught that Baptism was a central aspect to Salvation.( Mark 16:16). Even Jesus who lived a perfect life with no sin was Baptized for the remission of sins. Why? Baptism is a commandment and just like all of the Saviors life he was showing us an example of what we needed to do.
But what does Baptism mean? When we are baptized we make a Covenant or a promise with our Heavenly Father. We promise him that we will live our lives in a way where we are trying to be like Jesus Christ. We promise to obey his commandments and to remember Jesus Christ and his atonement for us. In return he promises us that we will receive a remission of our sins, we will receive the Gift of The Holy Ghost, and it will be a constant companion to help us through our lives. We are Baptized like Jesus was, by immersion (meaning we go all the way under the water).
One key ingredient that is necessary to make Baptism valid is that it must be done by someone holding the proper Priesthood authority. This power was lost from the earth after Jesus Christ's Apostles were killed. It has been restored to earth again through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Just like Jesus went to John The Baptist to be Baptized, we must also be baptized by those who hold this priesthood authority. John The Baptist himself appeared to Joseph Smith and conferred on him the power of The Priesthood. This power is found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Everyone will have a chance to receive the ordinance of Baptism. When you are baptized it becomes possible to make it back into the presence of your Heavenly Father to be with him. We can achieve Eternal Life. It is all made possible by The Atonement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for us to overcome sin and return to him and our Heavenly Father's presence. 2 Nephi 31. This is what our Heavenly Father wants for us. Moses 1:39
Our Heavenly Fathers perfect plan is directly above! Within this plan are the answers to all of life's great questions! In order to get back to our Heavenly Father's presence we must follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This gospel has been restored to earth in it's fullness through the Prophet Joseph Smith! Article of Faith #4.
Through this gospel we can make it home to our Heavenly Father again with all of the experience we came here to receive. We will also be resurrected and receive our bodies again. The Priesthood was restored and it is now possible to receive the all of the ordinances of Salvation as it was in times past! Simple truths have been restored to make our life and purpose easy to understand! Everything is centered around Jesus Christ who overcame Physical Death for us and also made it possible for us to be able to overcome Spiritual Death(Separation from Heavenly Father caused by sin) as we live his Gospel. I am so grateful for The Atoning Sacrifice of my Savior Jesus Christ which makes all things possible. You can literally know these things for yourself as I have come to know that they are true.
In Bath New York today and for the past couple of days it has been pretty hot outside! Walking down the street in my shirt, tie, and suit pants has been nearly unbearable with the sun scorching my skin. I feel weary like I am about to collapse due to heat exhaustion and dehydration as I walk during the day. However; I have been wise and made sure I drank plenty of water before I went outside and that I got the right amount of sleep last night. I also thought it would be smart to protect my skin from the damaging sun rays. I will be able to make it by through these hot days due to my preparation.
The adversary Satan also has a tendency to try to make us weary and fall victim to his traps and snares. Sometimes it feels like he comes on like a hot day in July! He attacks us with rays of temptation and sin trying not to weary of physical strength, but rather; he tries to break us down spiritually to give in to his temptations. In Lehi's dream he describes these tempting periods like mists of darkness(1 Nephi 12:17). But just as the sun gradually dehydrates us and our body temperature rise, so does Satan gradually work his slippery hands into our lives. At first he appears like a friend who is new and exciting to our carnal nature. But soon we realize that we are caught in a hot day and it might seem like we can't find the shade or any water around. But through Jesus Christ's Atonement we are able to escape the temptations that are all around us even when it might seem nearly impossible.
Satan is cunning and we have to prepare ourselves so we are not found in a position of where we are weak. But we must always be prepared through continual prayer and scripture study to strengthen us spiritually and keep us on our toes. We are not dealing with an amateur here, but with a cunning being that has been at this for years and his weapons are just advancing. But it is possible to escape before we find ourselves looking regretfully into the past.
