...With Hymns of Praise

I have always loved music, but since I've been on my mission I have had an increase of love for the hymns.

The prophets have said that "The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord...Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning, and inspire us to endure to the end."

Elder Oaks once said, and I agree, that "the singing of hymns is one of the best ways to put ourselves in tune with the Spirit of the Lord."

As my companion and I have been working, any time that we find we don't know what to do, or are distracted, we stop and sing a hymn. I've noticed what a strong impact a simple hymn can be. By singing hymns I have felt the spirit more than I would on an average day. I've been directed when I am confused. I have felt the Lord's love.

I testify that hymns bring the spirit. If you're ever feeling down, confused, or upset, stop and sing a hymn and I know that the Holy Ghost will touch your heart and bring feelings of hope, peace, and guidance. 

Read more about the power of hymns.

...With Happiness

Do you want to be happy? Of course you do! And I found the secret equation for happiness! Are you ready to be happy?

Family + Commandments + Scriptures + Temples + Work + Priesthood = Happiness

How do I know this? And where is the proof? Take a look in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 5:

1. Family. Nephi's older brothers don't really like him. In fact, they want to kill him. So what does Nephi do? He "flees into the wilderness" (verse 5) and the first thing he says he takes with him is his family (see v. 6). 

2. Keep the Commandments. Nephi tells of the first thing his family does as they settle in the wilderness: "...we did observe to keep the judgements, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things..." (v. 10)

3. Study the Scriptures.  Another thing Nephi mentions bringing as he fled into the wilderness were the "plates of brass" (v. 12), or their current scriptures. Nephi and his family read and prayed about this record often. 

4. Temple Attendance. Once Nephi and his family settled down what was the first thing he speaks of building? Temples! "...after the manner of the temple of Solomon..." (v. 16) they built and worshiped in temples.

5. Work. Work fixes that which doesn't work anymore. Nephi taught his people that they needed to "labor with their hands" (v. 17) or to learn to work for themselves. A valuable trait we all need to learn.

6. Priesthood and Following the Prophet. The last thing Nephi mentions doing is ordaining his younger brothers to "be priests and teachers" (v. 26) so that the people would have the blessings of the priesthood to lead and direct them.

So how does this equal happiness? After describing the pattern that Nephi and his people live, he tells us of their standard of living. He says "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." (v. 27) If we follow this pattern, set by a prophet of God, we too will find that we are living "after the manner of happiness." Now go be happy! 

...With Shiny Rocks

There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a group of people who the Lord is leading to a promised land. The prophet of these people was directed on how to build barges, or ships, that would carry them across the ocean. He came across a few different problems though, one of them being that they had no source of light. The Lord told the prophet to think of a few ideas and then pray about it. The prophet then shaped stones, and carrying them to the top of a mountain, asked the Lord to touch each one, knowing that each stone would then shine bright. (See Ether 2-3)

As I read this story, the significance of the stones stood out to me more than past times when I had read it. I was amazed at the effort it would take to carry 16 large stones up a mountain, having faith that the Lord would perform the miracle you hoped for.

Symbolically we each have stones we need to carry up mountains to the Lord. In this same book of scripture we are told by the Lord: "if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficent for all men that humble themselves efore me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)

When we bring those heavy, ugly stones up unto the Lord he can cause our weaknesses to be strengths, lighting our way. Our weaknesses can be made strong, and we can use those strengths to lead and help others.

"And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in the darkness, to give light unto men" (Ether 6:3)

...With Building Faith

As I was reading in the Book of Mormon I came across this verse:

"For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith." (Ether 12:30)

I thought that was pretty cool: the brother of Jared moved a mountain! I'd aspire to move as much as an ant hill! Can you imagine how much faith it would take to create such a miracle? I doubt there are many people out there that have that much faith. So, how did the brother of Jared do it?

Earlier in the book we read about the family of the brother of Jared. As the Lord confounded the languages at the tower of Babel, the brother of Jared prayed that his family would be kept safe. God led them to a beautiful area, rich in the resources they needed. His family was there for four years when the Lord came again and "for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord." (Ether 2:14)

The brother of Jared, a prophet of God, had a time of weakness. For four years he didn't trust in God or turn to Him for direction. But, rather than fall back into making that same mistake, he corrected his wrong and worked hard to build his strength in God. Then, after what I'm sure took a lot of work and time, the brother of Jared eventually built enough faith that he saw Jesus Christ in the flesh and even had enough faith to move a mountain! What an incredible example of making "weak things become strong." (Ether 12:27)

...With a Privilege

While reading an apostle's remarks about the honor of holding the priesthood, the authority to act in God's name, I gained some insight of my own. Although I don't hold the priesthood, I am still a daughter of God with great potential and privilege. The apostle, Dieter F. Uchtdorf shared the following story:

There once was a man whose lifelong dream was to board a cruise ship and sail the Mediterranean Sea. He dreamed of walking the streets of Rome, Athens, and Istanbul. He saved every penny until he had enough for his passage. Since money was tight, he brought an extra suitcase filled with cans of beans, boxes of crackers, and bags of powdered lemonade, and that is what he lived on every day.

He would have loved to take part in the many activities offered on the ship—working out in the gym, playing miniature golf, and swimming in the pool. He envied those who went to movies, shows, and cultural presentations. And, oh, how he yearned for only a taste of the amazing food he saw on the ship—every meal appeared to be a feast! But the man wanted to spend so very little money that he didn’t participate in any of these. He was able to see the cities he had longed to visit, but for the most part of the journey, he stayed in his cabin and ate only his humble food.

On the last day of the cruise, a crew member asked him which of the farewell parties he would be attending. It was then that the man learned that not only the farewell party but almost everything on board the cruise ship—the food, the entertainment, all the activities—had been included in the price of his ticket. Too late the man realized that he had been living far beneath his privileges. (Your Potential, Your Privilege)

My heart breaks everytime I hear that story! How horrible it is imagining all the great meals and activities the man missed out on! Yet, how often do we make the same type of decisions, missing out on the many blessings surrounding us?

We are blessed to have a prophet and apostles again on the earth. People who gain direction from God for our benefit! Do we truly understand how wonderful that news is?! Do we take the opportunity to listen and improve our lives? Or are these inspiried men like those many activities on the cruise ship that we don't take full privilege in?

I think the same principle can also be applied to the blessing we do receive in our lives, but don't take the time to recognize. In the scriptures we see the example of a group of people who "began to prosper by degrees" (Mosiah 21:16) and didn't recognize the wonderful blessings they could take part in and rejoice over.

I hope we'll never be like the man on that ship. I hope that we don't get too caught up in the expectations and focus on what we want that we don't recognize the many blessing that we have, esspecially the blessing of having a spokesman for God on the earth.