Follow Him and Find New Life

Because of Jesus, I will live again, my wife, my parents my children. I have always believed that.

To me, the greater wonder has been the miracle of forgiveness. That his grace can change my heart. Can make in me a new creature that no longer has the disposition for sin.

Every day I get to choose to follow him to trust him to willingly give my will to the Father as he did in Gethsemane and on the cross.

Perhaps the greatest discovery of my life, without question the greatest commitment, came when finally I had the confidence in God that I would loan or yield my agency to him— without compulsion or pressure, without any duress, as a single individual alone, by myself, no counterfeiting, nothing expected other than the privilege. In a sense, speaking figuratively, to take one’s agency, that precious gift which the scriptures make plain is essential to life itself, and say, ‘I will do as you direct,’ is afterward to learn that in so doing you possess it all the more. ("Obedience", Boyd K. Packer, BYU Devotional Dec 1971)

Come Unto Christ

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Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. (Moroni 10:32)

A Quiet Word

It started out as a feeling

Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry
I'll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye

Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never been this way before
All you can do is try to know who your friends are
As you head off to the war
Pick a star on the dark horizon and follow the light
You'll come back when it's over
No need to say goodbye
You'll come back when it's over
No need to say goodbye

Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget
Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes
You'll come back when they call you
No need to say goodbye
You'll come back when they call you
No need to say goodbye

This song filled my heart this morning. As I thought about the lyrics, I could tell what she was singing about.

"It started out as a feeling" I can imagine for someone, this is how it began. A feeling that there is more. More than this flesh and blood and life and death.

"Which then grew into a hope" Then it became a hope. That maybe it is true. That God exists and lives and is wonderfully loving and powerful.

"Which then turned into a quiet thought" This one way the Spirit speaks to me. It is a thought placed in my mind. A seed if not rejected, swells.

"Which then turned into a quiet word" What is that word? It is Christ! He is the One. He is the Word.

He loves us more than we are capable to love in return. He is willing to forgive us. He will bless us, sanctify us, if we are willing, to live with him again in a glorious kingdom.

We will become like him. Be one with him as he is one with the Father.

"I'll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye"
He has conquered death. We will rise because of him never to be separated from our glorious, perfect bodies. We will see our loved ones again. We have the opportunity to live with them forever.

"Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet"
It is now the day after you first recognized the spirit testifying of the name of Jesus. You wonder if it was all real. You hope it was. You immediately get a confirmation that is was real. But your friends have forgotten.

"Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes"
Keep the faith. Grow it. Feed it. Let its roots go down to the living waters. Until you stand before Him in the flesh.

He will receive you. He will embrace you. He will continue to bless you to the extent that you are willing.

Fall Down and Partake of the Fruit

[Lehi] saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree. (1 Ne 8: 30)

I want to be a part of the fourth group of people that Lehi saw. What did they do?

They "pressed forward". Don't give up. If you have, start again. See step one.

They "came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron". The word came reminds me of "come unto Christ". To come means we came from somewhere. It is from the neutral ground as Adam and Eve did, or it is from the adversary's ground. They caught hold of the rod of iron, the same as the second group Lehi saw.

They continued to "press their way forward". They didn't give up. This is repeated so it would benefit me to remember not to give up.

They "continually [held] fast to the rod of iron" Unlike the second group, they continually held fast to the rod of iron. They continually held on to the word of God.

They "came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree". We do not usually fall down to get fruit from a tree. This is a different kind of tree. It is the Love of God. To partake of it, we must fall down. We must surrender our pride. We must take in the Love of God, like we take in fruit. When we eat it, it literally becomes part of who we are.

Come Unto Christ

Over the last 24 hours it seems like a message has been coming through.

Last night as we read as a family, "And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God." Ether 12:18

This morning as I read I came across this, "my brother has proved unto you, in many instances, that the word is in Christ unto salvation" Alma 34:6

As I drove to work this morning I saw this on a window of a car next to me.  The reverence and submission to God touched me.  It made me think of the "I am a Mormon" campaign that will be starting in my home town soon.  It made me think of what I would put on my car.  The bumper sticker I came up with was one with the words "Come unto Christ".  To me is it filled with hope, challenge and healing.

The phrase "Come unto Christ" appears 4 times in the Book of Mormon and once in the Doctrine and Covenants.  It is in this message that my hope has grown.  I am invited as Nathanael, come and see.  He pleads with me to look and live.  As I offer up my whole soul unto Him, I am changed.  I become, inch by inch, what I most want to become, a son of God.  A son by adoption, through His blood.

And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved. (Omni 1:26)

What greater message is there?