Godly Fear Dispels Mortal Fear

I got up at 4:30 this morning as to assure me some time to finish my homework due for class today.   I missed my regular study time last night to participate in a face to face broadcast with Elder Bednar.  It was a very worthy exchange!  I love Elder Bednar's words!!!  I've been reading his series of books, Increase in Learning, Act in Doctrine, and Power to Become.

I crawled out of bed and went out to my favorite spot in my living room to pray, my little place of treasured communion with my Father.  I had a lot to do within a few short hours but I wanted to start my day off right.  I cracked open the scriptures and read more words on faith and trust, some of which seemed to speak my name, "Prepare your mind [Alicia]. [I] exhort you unto faith and to patience." (Alma 34:3)  

Ah, yes... faith and patience.  I pray for that with all of my heart.

I was blessed to have finished my homework sooner than expected.  This was an answer to my prayer because I was anxious to take a moment to soak up some comforting words and turned to Elder Bednar's recent conference address.  
... Ah, Just what I needed.  

I have shared below the parts that stood out to me the most.  What a blessing that we have this fountain of living water, these words of the living prophets, the scriptures, and our communion with our Father in Heaven through prayer.  They restore my soul!

-Alicia

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Mortal Fear
"The distressing emotion of fear arises because of impending danger, uncertainty, or pain and through experiences that are unexpected, sometimes sudden, and likely to produce a negative outcome.

Fear is dispelled through a correct knowledge of and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

Nephi declared: “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life” (2 Nephi 31:20).

The disciplined endurance described in this verse is the result of spiritual understanding and vision, persistence, patience, and God’s grace. Exercising faith in and on the holy name of Jesus Christ, meekly submitting to His will and timing in our lives, and humbly acknowledging His hand in all things yield the peaceable things of the kingdom of God that bring joy and eternal life (see D&C 42:61). Even as we encounter difficulties and face the uncertainties of the future, we can cheerfully persevere and live a “peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:2).

We can be blessed to hush our fears as we receive the fortitude that comes from learning and living gospel principles and resolutely pressing forward on the covenant pathway."

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Godly Fear

"The righteous fear I am attempting to describe encompasses a deep feeling of reverence, respect, and awe for the Lord Jesus Christ (see Psalm 33:8; 96:4), obedience to His commandments (see Deuteronomy 5:29; 8:6; 10:12; 13:4; Psalm 112:1)

Godly fear “is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7), “the instruction of wisdom” (Proverbs 15:33), a “strong confidence” (Proverbs 14:26), and “a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27).

Godly fear is loving and trusting in Him. As we fear God more completely, we love Him more perfectly. And “perfect love casteth out all fear” (Moroni 8:16). I promise the bright light of godly fear will chase away the dark shadows of mortal fears (see D&C 50:25) as we look to the Savior, build upon Him as our foundation, and press forward on His covenant path with consecrated commitment.

I love and revere the Lord. His power and peace are real. He is our Redeemer, and I witness He lives. And because of Him, our hearts need not be troubled or afraid (see John 14:27), and we will be blessed to hush our fears." 

- David A. Bednar (Therefore They Hushed Their Fears)

Beautiful Heartache

I truly believe that through Christ "I can do all things."  I was given a blessing when I was 16 where I was told that I would "be tested" in this life, that I would have some heartaches and would need the comforting influence of the scriptures, the teachings of Christ and of God, [my] Eternal Father, to strengthen [me] that [I] may pass through these trials as Job did, with flying colors and with comfort."

So many times I have read those words, "you will have some heartaches" and have assumed they would come in the form of a difficult home environment, accidents, or illness... you know, "trials!"  For some reason I've always associated "heartache" to be the kind of pain one would never wish for, the kind one would want removed from from their life.  I never imagined anything that could hurt so bad would be something I'd actually pray to keep.

Job was tested in ways I cannot even begin to comprehend. Nevertheless, he did not sacrifice his integrity.  I love that word "integrity!"  It is another way of saying Job remained true no matter the circumstance, no matter the cost and always praised the name of the Lord.

This blessing given to me in my teenage years promises that in such tests "[I] will conquest them and [I] will not sacrifice [my] integrity".  I seek to make certain that is fulfilled.

 Job endured countless "heartaches" the pain of which I cannot comprehend.  But look at what incredible faith it produced!  Ultimately, that is what I want... faith like Job!  The Lord was His ultimate source for strength and through Him he was able to "endure all things" without sinning or charging God foolishly. -  Job 1:22

 The promises given to me have held true. "The influence of the scriptures, the teachings of Christ and of God" truly have brought me comfort in such trials!!  I testify of their unfailing power. They have brought me solace and peace in all of my heartaches... including the ones I like to call "beautiful."

- Alicia 

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Every fear, every doubt, all the pain I went through
Was the price that I paid to see this view
Now that I'm here I would never trade
The grace that I feel and the faith that I find
Through the bittersweet tears and the sleepless nights
I used to pray He'd take it all away
But instead it became
A beautiful heartbreak

I never dreamed my heart would make it
And I thought about turning around
But Heaven has shown me miracles
I never would have seen from the ground
Now I take the rain with the sunshine
Cause there's one thing that I know
He picks up the pieces
Along each broken road

- Beautiful Heartbreak by, Hilary Weeks 

Alma 7:11  -  He Knows!

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire”  - Elder Orson F. Whitney

"Sweet Above All That Is Sweet"

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!  I love to hear the words of the Living Prophets.  I am deeply grateful to have their counsel in my life.  I know they have been called of God.  If you haven't experienced the joy that comes from applying and acting in true doctrine, I invite you to come and see, come and feel, and come and know!  It's beautiful!

I look forward to a Spirit-filled weekend this wonderful Easter with LDS General Conference.  The word of God is "sweet above all that is sweet!"

"But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst." -Alma 32: 41,42 

Revelation - "Lifting of the Veil"

 The root of the Greek word apokalupsis, translated ‘revelation,’ is kalu, meaning ‘a veil or covering.’  The prefix apo is a preposition meaning ‘from, away from.’  The suffix -psis denotes action or process.  Apokalupsis therefore means the action or process of taking away the veil.

Revelation = "Lifting of the Veil"  What a thought provoking concept!

I have spent much focus in my studies on the doctrine of revelation these last couple of weeks.  I desire more than anything to be guided by the Spirit in my life... but because I am mortal I have weaknesses, and I can be a little slow in recognizing exactly what the Lord is trying to reveal to me.

Have you ever prayed about something and received an answer but over the course of a few days looked back in disbelief and said to yourself, "It can't be true, it was just my own thoughts"?  It's in moments like these that I feel the desire to pray, fast, study God's word, and seek the Spirit even more diligently as Alma did.  He recognized inspiration from the Lord from following this pattern to such an extent that he knew it!  He boldly testified, "They are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God.  Behold I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.  And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me." - Alma 5:46

I have seen this pattern of "prayer, fasting, study of God's word, and seeking the Spirit" work in my own life and can testify of its validity.  When it is of the Lord, I have also noticed that I will receive multiple witnesses confirming its truth from several different sources; a conference talk, a sermon in sacrament meeting, verses I come across in my scripture study, and of course the peaceful calm of the Spirit.

Just recently, I have "given [myself] to much fasting and prayer" about a direction in my life I feel the Lord is taking me but seeking to know most sincerely if it is truly the Lord reveling it to me or if it's my own desires. I have read scriptures that have given me the answer before but I am slow sometimes and need a 3rd or 4th witness.   I asked Him to forgive me for asking one more time and prayed that He would show me one more scripture to confirm that this was truly a revelation from Him.  I opened my Bible, thumbed through the pages and the first verse my eyes fell on were these, "For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."  - Matthew 10:20
I just don't see things like that as a coincidence.  This was a direct answer to me.

The Lord wants to reveal things to us!  Look at the intense faith the brother of Jared had.  It was so great that "he could not be kept from beholding within the veil" and "he saw Jesus" - Ether 3:18,19
I believe that if we could truly see how powerful faith is, it would almost frighten us. "It is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister" - Moroni 7:37

 "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us." - Marianne Williamson

We are literal children of God, children of the Light. "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
I love that we have direct access to our Heavenly Home through prayer, through Jesus Christ, and that with full faith we can see what the Lord desires to show us.

I am so thankful to know emphatically that I have a loving Father in Heaven who not only hears my prayers but is involved in the smallest details of my life.  He wants to "lift the veil" from our eyes, He wants us to see His face and recognize His benevolent and guiding hand.

-Alicia

"His Priesthood and His Church"

As I put "The Living Christ" into memory, I noticed that not only did I feel the witness of Jesus Christ's Divine mission but I felt a powerful and undeniable witness that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the restoration and that we have prophets on the earth today. 

In "The Living Christ" I love the way Joseph Smith describes the attributes of the Savior from first-hand experience; His eyes, His hair, His countenance, and His voice. Wow, can you imagine what that would have been like? I long for that day! But even here and now, I believe I have seen glimpses of my Savior in the faces of those who love Him, and I can only imagine all of that beauty and glory combined billions of times over into one being.  There would be no strength for me to stand.  I would fall to my face and my heart would sing, "Oh, love effulgent, love Divine! What debt of gratitude is mine!"

 His Spirit bears witness to me about the wonderful gift we have been given to have apostles who speak and testify in Christ's name and authority today. The sentence, "We bear testimony as His duly ordained apostles that Jesus is the Living Christ", brings peace into my heart. I can't think of a time in all human history where the world has had greater need for prophets and apostles on the earth than now.

Gethsemane 2007

In the summer of 2007 my friend, Nathan, took me and my husband with him to the Holy Land.   There, I "walked the roads of Palestine." I strolled the streets of Bethlehem, I waded in the waters of Galilee, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, gazed upon the hill of Calvary, and sang hymns in the empty tomb. Words are not sufficient to describe what an experience that was!

But, do you know where I felt the Spirit the strongest? 

Surprisingly, that overwhelming Spirit that causes your heart to leap inside your chest and heaven wash over your entire soul, was felt the most as I walked into sacrament meeting at the BYU Jerusalem Center. I felt as if I stood inside the Temple. The design of the room was unlike any other. I entered from the back of the chapel, the seats were in an steep theater style so the podium where the sacrament talks are given was down at the bottom of the room in front of me like on a stage. Behind where the podium stood, there was no solid wall, choir seats, or organ pipes like we often see. Instead, it was all glass, an open window to the world and, you could see from any point a perfect panoramic view of the Old City, Jerusalem. 

Also from where I stood in the back of the chapel, below the vertical pipes for the organ, there were pipes that looked like trumpets jetting out and facing the direction of that great city. When the organ played I looked back at these trumpets and expected to see angels on the other side, I thought of the angel Moroni who stands on all our temples proclaiming in great glory that the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored to the earth! I wanted to join in and shout it with those angels!

If you want to go to a city that has almost every possible religion represented there, go to Jerusalem. The scripture that came to my mind when I thought of the countless numbers of religions in that place is Jacob 5:30 where the Lord in His vineyard sees a tree with many different kinds of fruit but none of them the right fruit the tree was supposed to bear. It was so awesome meeting people of all kinds of faith and I will forever cherish the discussions I had with them. But as I stood on that Sabbath day in the chapel of that dedicated building, and as I looked out over the Holy Land, I wanted to fall to my knees in reverence and humility for all that I have been given. I cried tears of gratitude to know that I had the fullness of the Gospel, His Priesthood and His Church.

 I testify that His Gospel, His Priesthood, is the key to unifying the nations of the earth and the tool to bringing people together of all faiths.

Teach Them to Observe

After the Lord rose from the grave and visited among His 11 disciples, He gave them a charge to go forth and "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."

What exactly was it that His beloved disciples were to teach?

He gives the answer in the next verse, "Teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19-20

It's this word "observe" that caught my attention this morning. "Observe" shows up 93 times in the scriptures.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines it as this:
To hold in view, to keep eyes upon, to celebrate, to practice, to keep or maintain in ones actions, to look to with careful attention and vigilance.

David proclaims,
"Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord."  Psalms 107:43
"Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart." Psalms 119:34
(I love that, "whole heart".)

In modern revelation, the Lord has taught, "Among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice - yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command - they are accepted of me.  For I, the Lord, will cause them to bring forth as a very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit." D&C 97:8-9

The counsel and the promise I see here is this;
Keep your eyes upon, celebrate, practice, give your whole soul and attention to the covenants you have made with the Savior, at baptism and in the House of the Lord, treasure them, prove you treasure them through your actions, and the Lord will cause you to "bring forth as a very fruitful tree which is planted in a good spot of ground, by a pure stream." His promises are sure!

I have a testimony of the enabling power of my Savior, He gives me power over the Destroyer.  D&C 101:54

For me, the Temple is the place where I find my greatest strength, not from what I do there but what I keep, what I take with me from there and treasure in my heart.  I find comfort, solace, and direction in observing truth.  I love my Savior, His promises, His teachings, the words of the apostles and prophets both ancient and modern.  These are living water to me!  This is the "pure stream" that flows by my side, this is the "good ground" where I am planted.

-Alicia