There were a number of buzz words that around during my time as a missionary. The one that was around most of my time in Australia was “revelatory”. Revelatory planning, study, in our thoughts regarding those we taught, ect… We were challenged to be revelatory missionaries. A.A.M. missionaries constantly seek revelation for the words they know God has for them to speak.
Then I returned from my mission. I had just come from a good habit of seeking revelation to help others. I expected help and direction because I was a representative of Jesus Christ. But suddenly I was left to myself, or I felt. As most returned missionaries are I was a little disoriented and still am at times. I wasn’t receiving revelation as frequently as I had been. And then the Matthew 7:7 verse came to mind and I realized I must seek revelation to receive it. To be revelatory forever one must seek revelation, seek Gods will.
I also realized I need to still trust in God, that he still will answer my prayers. Still trust in his promises. Understand that he is still anxious to help me, to direct me. To help me develop worthy goals and start down the path of reaching those goals.
Faith is confidence in something or someone. Faith that leads to Salvation and Eternal Life needs to be centered on Jesus Christ.
Faith in your friends, your family, or even the Prophet will not bring you Salvation...
That being said, faith in others is not a bad thing, but your full confidence should be in Jesus Christ.
Reflect for a moment on your relationship with your Savior. What part in your life does he play?
How close are you currently to Him? Are you striving to grow closer to Him?
May I suggest an exercise? I would invite you to read 3 Nephi 11:14-15 and reflect upon your
relationship with Jesus Christ.
14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side,
and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet,
that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth,
and have been slain for the sins of the world.
15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their
hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and
in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had
all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands,
and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it
was written by the prophets, that should come.
Love ya
Michael Kelm
Faith is confidence in something or someone. Faith that leads to Salvation and Eternal Life needs to be centred on Jesus Christ. Faith in your friends, your family, or even the Prophet will not bring you Salvation... That being said, faith in others is not a bad thing, but your full confidence should be in Jesus Christ.
Reflect for a moment on your relationship with your savoir. What part in your life does he play? How close are you currently to Him? Are you striving to grow closer to Him?
May I suggest an exercise? I would invite you to read 3 Nephi 11:14-15 and reflect upon your relationship with Jesus Christ.
14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
Love ya
Michael Kelm
Faith is confidence in something or someone. Faith that leads to Salvation and Eternal Life needs to be centred on Jesus Christ. Faith in your friends, your family, or even the Prophet will not bring you Salvation... That being said, faith in others is not a bad thing, but your full confidence should be in Jesus Christ.
Reflect for a moment on your relationship with your savoir. What part in your life does he play? How close are you currently to Him? Are you striving to grow closer to Him?
May I suggest an exercise? I would invite you to read 3 Nephi 11:14-15 and reflect upon your relationship with Jesus Christ.
14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
Love ya
Michael Kelm
A covenant is a sacred promise man makes with God and in which God makes promises of Blessings. The difference between a promise between a man and a man, and a promise between man and God is that God sets the terms. He chooses what we promise him and he chooses what he promises us. Just like a good parent sets the terms for reward with a child, so does God set the terms for us.
Covenants are not there for God to control us for the sake of His own ego, God is not self-centered. God gives us covenants to safeguard us from what can really damage us. Covenants are the way by which we can return to live with Him.
How do we enter into a covenant with God? In order to make a covenant with God you must preform a sacred ordinance by one that holds authority from God. An ordinance is a symbolic act in which you make those covenants with God.
Why does one have to hold authority from God? Let us reflect on the way God organized the worship in the tabernacle during the times of Moses. There are twelve tribes of Israel. The tribe of Levi had the authority from God to preform all the sacrifical rites that symbolized the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This authority is called the Priesthood, the Authority to act in Gods name.
This authority is not taken upon men of their own accord. It says in Hebrews 5: 4 "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron". Even when Jesus ordained his apostles he made it clear in John 15: 16 "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you".
To get into the Kingdom of Heaven we must all first believe in Jesus Christ. Have Faith in him and desire to follow him. When we desire to follow him we will repent of our sins, our breaking of God's commandments. Once we do that we will be willing are ready to be Baptized by someone with Authority from God, which is a sacred ordinance in which we make covenants to follow Jesus Christ and leave our old life of sin.
That is not all, we must the receive the Holy Ghost from one that has authority from God. The Holy Ghost is a gift from God that will guide us as we are righteous... Then we endure to the end of our life, continuing to grow.
God restored his Authority, his Priesthood, on the earth again. It was lost after the twelve apostles where killed and has been restored by the prophet Joseph Smith. Today Jesus Christ's true church is on the earth again. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints..
Message brought to you from Down Under, posted by his sister...
My friend once wrote that "righteous men uphold their promises". Back in a time when the world was more civilized men use to make deals not with paper, but with a simple handshake. There was a sense of honor back then that does not exist today.
Far to often in our day people do not commit to anything, any Idea, or anyone. Instead of men giving their whole heart and means to the woman they cherish, and to God through Marriage, men will far to often leave a cowardly back door with which they can easily run away. This backdoor is found in partnerships. Animals have partners, we are not Animals, we are Sons and Daughters of God. These men and women in these relationships have no true loyalty, no true respect, and are filled with selfishness.
I feel like Nephi when he cried, "if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul, then would my soul have joy in the righteousness of my brethern" (Helaman 7:8). But like Nephi I do not like in days of honor and commitment. Still I can be like Nephi and be in the world, but not of the world. I will do my best to keep my promises and commitments.
*emailed to Michael's sister from Australia to post online*
What Gods Do
Moses 1:39 “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
What is God’s work and his glory? His work is focused on allowing man to live forever with him. He wants to bring us from our low and fallen state to His high estate.
Now, after Jesus was crucified he dwelt among His sheep in Jerusalem. Then he left them to go and teach His sheep in the Americas (John 10:16). There is an account during that time that has always made me wonder. Jesus teaches the Nephites the manner they should pray and then commands them to pray. The people do so and are filled with the Holy Ghost. Then Jesus does the following in 3 Nephi 19: 19-21.
19 And it came to pass that Jesus departed out of the midst of them, and went a little way off from them and bowed himself to the earth, and he said: 20 Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of their belief in me that I have chosen them out of the world. 21 Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in their words.
I am always touched by this account. I use to be confused as to why our Savior would have to bow down and pray to His Heavenly Father. I could understand why Jesus would pray before he was crucified, because he did not know everything, he was still learning about Himself and his mission. This is shown when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Matthew 26: 39 he prays for the cup to be taken from him if it was God’s will. He did so, because he did not know the weight of our pains and sins till he actually did it.
What I’m trying to say is that I can see why he’d need to pray to God before completing the atonement, because he had not experience everything and needed the Father. But why would he need to pray after the Atonement was complete?
Moses 1:39 helped me understand what Gods do. By praying Jesus was giving glory to God. He was lifting God up even high. Jesus was also praying for the welfare of the people. He prayed for them to be uplifted to a point that they can receive the Holy Ghost.
What do Gods do? They lift up everyone around them higher and higher. They add joy and glory to others through their love.
To be angry and unforgiving is selfishness. To have unconditional love and to forgive is selflessness.
For the life of me I cannot remember when my father told me that being angry is a choice. When somebody wrongs us in any way we have the selfish choice of being reactive and childish or the selfless choice of being proactive and mature. I know for myself that only the selfless choice brings me true joy. Being proactive strengthens my relationships with others and helps me see their deeper needs and fears.
I also know that being selfish only leaves me alone and unhappy. The childish pleasure of reacting does not last, because pleasure does not last, while the joy of growing in love towards others is eternal.
Choose not to be angry.
Who are we the children of? Romans 8: 16 reads, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” We are children of our Heavenly Father. You are a either literally a Son or Daughter of God. Now, often people understand that but ignore what this also means. This means that we are all literally brothers and sister! That man walking down the street is your brother, your brother! Love your siblings…
There are times your brothers and sisters will hurt you. They will do something as small as saying a thoughtless word to deliberately hurting you. Some way or another your brothers and sisters will wound you.
The prophet Nephi was always being mistreated by his older brothers Laman and Lamuel. At one point they had just tied Nephi up and by the power of God he broke the bands that bounded him. His older brothers then became sorrowful for their actions. They pleaded for forgiveness. I love what Nephi did in 1 Nephi 7:21, “And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they had done.”
I would hope we could all be like Nephi and frankly forgive our brothers and sisters like Nephi forgave his brothers. Forgive right away and choose not to be angry.
