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.
I hope we can all be serious in our promises.
Love you all,
Elder Kelm.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
What Gods Do
*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.
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.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Take No Offense
Take No Offense
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.
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.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Repentance
Thoughts from Down Under...
Repentance
We change our desire to think, believe, and act against the will of our Heavenly Father.
We are sorry our desires of our heart went against the will of our Heavenly Father. We understand that God’s will and his commandments bring us true joy for oneself and for the world as a whole.
We gain a fresh view of God as a loving Heavenly Father that only has desires for our welfare. God is not a selfish tyrannical leader that wants us to do things for the sake of controlling us for His own pleasure. He gives us commandments to help us towards his goal of “bring[ing] to past the immortality (living forever) and eternal life (The way God lives) of man”(Moses 1:39).
When we repent we turn away from sin and resist any temptation to go against our Father’s loving will.
Repentance is continual, we fall short and sin. Jesus asks us to continually improve and continually soften our hearts, so that we can work towards being like him.
If we are baptized by one who holds proper authority, continue to repent and develop Christ like qualities, then we shall retain a remission of sins and we shall return to our Heavenly Father again.
Repentance
We change our desire to think, believe, and act against the will of our Heavenly Father.
We are sorry our desires of our heart went against the will of our Heavenly Father. We understand that God’s will and his commandments bring us true joy for oneself and for the world as a whole.
We gain a fresh view of God as a loving Heavenly Father that only has desires for our welfare. God is not a selfish tyrannical leader that wants us to do things for the sake of controlling us for His own pleasure. He gives us commandments to help us towards his goal of “bring[ing] to past the immortality (living forever) and eternal life (The way God lives) of man”(Moses 1:39).
When we repent we turn away from sin and resist any temptation to go against our Father’s loving will.
Repentance is continual, we fall short and sin. Jesus asks us to continually improve and continually soften our hearts, so that we can work towards being like him.
If we are baptized by one who holds proper authority, continue to repent and develop Christ like qualities, then we shall retain a remission of sins and we shall return to our Heavenly Father again.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
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Sunday, October 18, 2009
Fullness of Truth, One Day at a Time
Michael emailed this to me and asked me to post it. Enjoy....
I find that there are some people that want to know everything about the gospel, about their life, and about themselves right away. Give me everything now is the call of these impatient people.
Others know that we learn line upon line, precept upon precept. These people take what they have been given and slowly savor what they know and make new connections patiently.
Still, there are even those that know that they must learn line upon line, but become frustrated when they don’t seem to be growing and learning at the pace they have decided others are growing at around them.
It is important to know that everything goes according to “[God’s] own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will (D&C 88: 68).”
In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, in May of 1833, the Lord declared:
“Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; …
“The Spirit of truth is of God. … He [Jesus] received a fulness of truth …;
“And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
“He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”
When we keep God’s commandments he blesses us. There are times God doesn’t answer right away, because we are not ready for the answer. I believe as we keep the commandments we are ready for His answers sooner then we would be if we don’t keep his commandments… We can’t learn line upon line if we aren’t following the first line.
I believe it is important to note that we will be continuing to grow our entire life. If we have a complete fullness in this life our faith would be destroyed. And we need to have faith and rely on Jesus Christ to have strength in this life.
We should continue to grow in this life and one day, through Jesus Christ we will be resurrected and receive a fullness of truth.
I find that there are some people that want to know everything about the gospel, about their life, and about themselves right away. Give me everything now is the call of these impatient people.
Others know that we learn line upon line, precept upon precept. These people take what they have been given and slowly savor what they know and make new connections patiently.
Still, there are even those that know that they must learn line upon line, but become frustrated when they don’t seem to be growing and learning at the pace they have decided others are growing at around them.
It is important to know that everything goes according to “[God’s] own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will (D&C 88: 68).”
In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, in May of 1833, the Lord declared:
“Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; …
“The Spirit of truth is of God. … He [Jesus] received a fulness of truth …;
“And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
“He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”
When we keep God’s commandments he blesses us. There are times God doesn’t answer right away, because we are not ready for the answer. I believe as we keep the commandments we are ready for His answers sooner then we would be if we don’t keep his commandments… We can’t learn line upon line if we aren’t following the first line.
I believe it is important to note that we will be continuing to grow our entire life. If we have a complete fullness in this life our faith would be destroyed. And we need to have faith and rely on Jesus Christ to have strength in this life.
We should continue to grow in this life and one day, through Jesus Christ we will be resurrected and receive a fullness of truth.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Who do I love the most and why?
Every Monday I write an email to my Mission President. Sometimes he sends me questions to answer.
One day he asked me “who do you love the most and why?”
At first I was not sure. I wanted to be honest and ended up writing the following to my Mission President.
I love my God. Like anything love grows, my love for him has grown. The seed started with his word. I learned his commandments and as I follow them I’m happier. It’s the same with any advice, if you see the benefit, then you are thankful to the person that gave you the advice. You love them because they showed their love for you through advice. Then you notice his tender mercies in your life and your love for Him increases. Then you get to the point that your told in blessings that he loves you even beyond your understanding. You feel that love fill your body as those words are spoken by other. Then you eventually get on your knees and ask him if he loves you. This time it’s just you and your Heavenly Father. He lovingly answers yes.
Why? Because he loves me even though he knows of all my faults he still loves me.
One day he asked me “who do you love the most and why?”
At first I was not sure. I wanted to be honest and ended up writing the following to my Mission President.
I love my God. Like anything love grows, my love for him has grown. The seed started with his word. I learned his commandments and as I follow them I’m happier. It’s the same with any advice, if you see the benefit, then you are thankful to the person that gave you the advice. You love them because they showed their love for you through advice. Then you notice his tender mercies in your life and your love for Him increases. Then you get to the point that your told in blessings that he loves you even beyond your understanding. You feel that love fill your body as those words are spoken by other. Then you eventually get on your knees and ask him if he loves you. This time it’s just you and your Heavenly Father. He lovingly answers yes.
Why? Because he loves me even though he knows of all my faults he still loves me.
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