I had such a great weekend. I feel uplifted and ready to try harder. I went to a primary presidency brunch and listened to one of the members of our stake presidency speak. He talked about how there are two ways we can feel the spirit. We can receive it through thoughts and our mind. And we can feel it in our hearts. He felt that it was important that we figure out how to do both. Study the scriptures, become knowledgeable about the gospel. And also try to tune into the spirit to feel that comfort and peace. I'm not doing it justice, it was really inspiring.
Then he went on to talk about how important it was that we teach the primary children to love the scriptures at their young age. They are growing up in an evil, scary world and we as parents, teachers and leaders need to equip them the best we can. They are stripling warriors fighting against satan. Its not good enough that they read the Book of Mormon for the first time on their missions, they need to be doing it now. If they wait till they are through their teenage years, they won't be equipped.
Today we had a new family in our ward speak. I was just really impressed by them. Both talks were fantastic, but he said some things that really stuck with me. First, if we want to be a person of character, we actually have to DO the things that build it. We have to actually study the gospel and pray to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father. We can't fake character. People see through that. And more importantly God sees through that.
It reminded me of another person who said college is just a bunch of people doing everything they can to avoid getting an education but still pass. I totally did that. I skipped just enough classes, did just enough work to pass without actually learning a thing. I want to have a huge knowledge of the scriptures and doctrine. I want to constantly feel the spirit. But I have to actually do the work. Obviously. It was just an A-HA moment I guess.
I think that's how alot of us Utah Mormons are. We go to church, we are nice, we live the culture. But are we anxiously engaged in study and prayer? Are we striving the share the joy of the gospel with our neighbors. Are we building true character?
The other thing he said that rang true was we need to be building this "character" now so that when personal or world tragedy hits, we have the tools to get through it. The speaker told a story about how his dad, father to eight kids, lost his wife, house, and job all in a couple years. But he didn't blame God and he didn't expect that because he had been living a righteous life that God would take his pain and troubles away. But he was living righteously. He was faithful. His "tank was full" so when tragedy struck, he was able to deal with it and get through it.
That felt really true to me. Lots of bad stuff is going to happen to us in life. And just because we are good people and even if we have all the faith in the world, that doesn't mean its not going to happen or that God will fix the problem. It just means that we will be able to deal with it.
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