thoughtfloodway

[thoughtfloodway]

I think we can all agree that the world has been changing fast and can be scary. I used to wonder how President Nelson was excited for the future. But now I understand. When God gives you peace, and when you choose to qualify for peace, He makes the future exciting to you.

I pray this helps and that you ask God how to qualify for His faith. Ask sincerely with faith He can and will give it to you.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[thoughtfloodway]

When you're going through some hard stuff, remember that God said He will not let you go through anything more than you can bear. The fact that you are getting this, then, means you are stronger than you think you are. You may even be stronger than most of us.

And you signed up for this-- mortality-- to grow! God is helping you. I bear my testimony of this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[thoughtfloodway]

Every Day Is a Breakthrough

At Church last week, the Bishop gave the last speaker permission to go over time. After applying what was taught, I can see why!

The Brother said he does this thing every day, where he prays, saying all his thoughts, and then listens and records whatever God says, and then goes and does the prompting, however weird it is. Once, he said, the Spirit told him to go to the fridge and open the door. (He didn’t tell us why, but that is an example of how weird God’s promptings may be.)

I interpreted his counsel to “say all your thoughts” as to mean, “Say all the thoughts you never thought you should acknowledge, say aloud, or tell God.” 

And so I did. I told God some feelings I had. I had never dared entertain them, and they seemed too sinful to mention to Him. To mention them would be to accept them as mine, and I could not do that! But I finally told Him these thoughts and feelings I’d had. He told me to go play ukulele. 

I didn’t know how to play, but just a week or so before, I’d learned how to tune the ukulele, which I had requested for my birthday several years before. When I learned to tune it, I also learned that playing it gives you a high similar to a runners’ high.

I went and played, and it did help me feel better. Now I use it as a stress reliever and am learning more. I hope to use it on my mission.

I wrote my notes about this experience-- what I said in my prayer, what God said in return, etc.-- in a journal I now reserve just for this nightly time to tell God my feelings and hear His in return.

It has made my testimony stronger, my faith stronger, and His realness to me much stronger. My relationship with Him is deepening. I love Him like a mortal Father, and I know He will always take care of my emotional needs. In addition, I have learned that He will never “upbraid” me (James 1:5-6). 

Definition of upbraid:

“find fault with (someone); scold”

I pray that you will find your way to doing this every day, too.

You can remember “pray, listen, act.” 

With God, and doing this, every day for me has been a breakthrough. I pray it will be for you, 

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[thoughtfloodway]

Some atheists say it is weird that Christians feels they need to refer to the 10 Commandments to decide not to do something bad. Athiests follow them just in the process of trying to be good people.

But I realized: we DON'T follow the Commandments only because God spelled them out for us. In fact, the 10 Commandments didn't exist until about 1400 BC. As Christians, we believe that the Commandments already had intrinsic motivations for following them, and God simply spelled them out when some people didn't recognize those reasons and were being bad anyway. So we Christians agree; if you are only abstaining from lying, stealing, adultery, and murder because you fear death if you don't, yeah, you really are bad and have a long ways to go. The 10 Commandments are worth living even when no one has spelled them out for us. Thank you!

[thoughtfloodway]

I was thinking how easy it is to memorize songs, and I thought, "Why doesn't God do that for scripture?" And then I remembered, He does!! The Psalms were songs from their original language, and Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others used poetry from their culture.

[thoughtfloodway]

Watch "How to Wear a Medical Mask So Glasses Don't Fall Off or Fog Up" on YouTube

[thoughtfloodway]

Jacob 5:6 in the Book of Mormon

It is a story representing Israel and Gentiles. Israel is represented by branches on a tame olive tree. The gentiles are wild olive trees. God, the maker of the orchard, cares well for the tame trees (which is Israel.) And he says,

"And it came to pass that after many days it began to put forth somewhat a little, young and tender branches". After MANY days. Somewhat, little. God never cuts us off when we are little trees just TRYING to make a difference. If we are trying to grow, even if we are slow, He will not cut us down.

This is my testimony, in the name of our Loving Jesus Christ, amen.

[thoughtfloodway]

We

God said that we can become like Him. We can become like Heavenly Father. Some faiths think we can't. But then what did Jesus say in His sermon, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48).

[thoughtfloodway]

Don't do this one thing

“Those Saints who neglect [being baptized for … their relatives who are dead] in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation."

- Joseph Smith

We truly need them. Please do family history work. God gives us the time.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

[thoughtfloodway]

Self reliance doesn't mean you have everything you think you need; it means you have everything you really need. In the self reliance manuals, there is a video with a short talk. Elder Enrique R. Falabella said when he was a kid, his shoes got very worn out. they even had a hole at the top! He told his Dad, so his Dad said, "I think this is something we can fix." He then polished the shoe and said, "Now they're fixed, son."

His son said, "No, not yet. You can still see my toe sticking out of my shoe."

His father said, "Well, we can fix that too!" And he polished his toe.

Elder Falabella's Dad knew that his son didn't really need NEW shoes. He just needed protection from rocks, bugs, and anything else he might step on, and that he wanted people not to see his foot through the shoe. With his worn out shoes and polished toe, he had that. You can be self-reliant, having all the necessities of life, even if you do not have the money or resources to have everything you usually think you need.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[thoughtfloodway]

After more time of doing this, I found this to be a good monitor of how I am obeying outside of the car. For instance, when I am being casual about it and making lots of tiny mistakes, I realize that this is how it has been for me that day, even outside of the car.

Why I Go Below the Speed Limit

Following of the law is a direct mandate from God. It is supposed to be symbolic of our obedience to Him, because we our obeying our earthly leaders (as long as they don't try to make us disobey our Heavenly Leader. Fortunately, we are not there yet, at least not in my life.)

So, I realized I kept going above the speed limit. I remembered a story in the Ensign once where a man said he used to commit crimes and even went to jail for it, but now he has repented so much that he does not even go above the speed limit. I thought that was a really great way to show devotion to keeping the law. Of course, if you are in a place where the flow of traffick makes going the speed limit DANGEROUS, then going the speed limit becomes illegal, so don't do that.

So then I practiced going the speed limit. I found I frequently went above it by accident, such as when going down hills, or if I got distracted. So, if this was supposed to be like filling God's laws (and thus I don't want to ever break God's law), then I should go BELOW the speed limit so that going the speed limit is only ever an accident, and then I'll almost NEVER break the law!

So I've started doing that. It makes me feel really proud (a good pride) that I am following God's law. The pride, and knowing God is pleased with me, makes up for the annoyingness of going slowly. At first I tried going 5 mph under, but that was too annoying and I found it to be unnecessary, so now I keep just 2 or 3 mph under.

I noticed that when speeding with someone behind me, I hesitate to slow down. I shouldn't do this with heavenly laws, so I decided to not be tempted by peer pressure and to just slow down instantly anyways. If I'm breaking the law, I'm going to stop as soon as I can!

I bear my testimony to you that this feels good. You can feel the Spirit with you. And I am hoping it may translate over to my obedience outside the car. So far, so good. And I hope you will, too, do this.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

How may you apply this to your life? I hope you do. You should!

[thoughtfloodway]

You might want to post this in your bedroom or in your home somewhere.

-- President Uchtdorf, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in his talk, "The Love of God."

[thoughtfloodway]

I've considered how Jesus said to love others "as you love yourself." Since He wants us to love others as much as possible, that made me think that it must be physically or spiritually impossible to love others more than you love yourself.

But then someone brought up that sacrificing yourself for another's life seems to show that you love them more than you love yourself. Or at least that you love them more than you love your own life, whether you count it as "yourself" or not.

So I have been pondering whether it is possible for us to love others more than we love ourselves. And today I thought, well don't we love ourselves enough to sacrifice ourselves for... ourselves?

How would we do that? We give up ourselves, our lives (the way we live), to God, to save ourselves spiritually. Do we not love ourselves enough to give up our lives to live for God, so that we can save ourselves spiritually? Or, to do our part so that we can be saved, spiritually (since it is not really us saving ourselves)?

I think that only those who have been willing to give up their lives to God, in order to save themselves, are willing to sacrifice their own physical lives for others.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Brother, amen.

[thoughtfloodway]

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God" (Ether 12:4).

Want to be sure and steadfast in conversion to God?

ALWAYS abounding in good works?

Sure that you are doing the right thing?

Sure that you are right before God?

Sure that you can improve?

Sure that you are making a big positive impact?

Sure that you are being an instrument in God's hands?

Always "feel so now" in your heart the desire to praise Him?

Then believe in Him, have faith that He has answers and is capable of doing no matter how much or how little faith you have, and have hope for salvation, and this will lead you to always abound in good works and have hope-- a confirmed hope-- that you will have salvation with Christ and God the Father.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[thoughtfloodway]

Get rich without your heart getting set on riches by always having a goal in mind for the money you are currently working for.

In the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Jacob admonishes, "But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted."

What a promise!

[thoughtfloodway]

Sing with your kids. It helps you teach them, feel calm, and them to feel good.

To decrease the stress of tantrums and crying and nagging and such, imagine yourself in a bubble nothing can upset you in! This is what Judy Arnall, a Mom of 5, author of several parenting books, and Certified Family Life Educator, suggests as one way to deal with it. And it helps!

[thoughtfloodway]

Give Book of Mormons to everybody. We are to "flood the earth." I challenge you to just offer people today the Book of Mormon. You could offer it to strangers, who might be looking for the truth, but I personally am thinking of friends and neighbors. Many people will very willingly take a free Book of Mormon from a stranger.

You don't even need physically copies. You can offer them a pdf form from the Church website.

Consider that any "reasons" not to may be from Satan. But if the Spirit says to not offer it to a certain person, don't offer it, of course! Always listen to the Holy Spirit!! No matter what!

#FloodtheEarth #LDS #ChurchofJesusChrist