The Wisdom of Wisdom: Even for us Weaklings

Today I've been studying about the Word of Wisdom. One of the things I love about it that it is for the weakest and the strongest of us.  I have never considered myself to be physically strong, so it is such a great blessing to have a promise from the Lord that if I can follow this law, then I will be able to be healthy and run and not be weary.

This is my favorite part from Section 82 of the Doctrine and Covenants:

"And ALL saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking
in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones... And shall run and NOT be weary, and shall walk and not faint."

This is such an incredible promise.  In what ways have you seen this fulfilled in your life?

D&C 59:8-10: The Law of the Sabbath

Today our ward Sunday School Class learned about the Law of the Sabbath.  We read a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants that really hit me.  

Doctrine and Covenants 59:8-10

"Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go up to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

 "For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the most high."

Here are a couple of things that we can learn from these verses of scripture:

1. The first verse says that we need to "offer a sacrifice unto the Lord," with "broken heart and a contrite spirit."  This makes me think of our sacramental covenants that we renew every Sunday during Sacrament Meeting.  When we renew our baptismal covenants, we become perfect again.  Obviously, we cannot stay perfect for an entire week until we can come back to renew our covenants.  So we make sacrifices each week on how we can do better.  This scripture helped me realize that we need to have a specific sacrifice, or a specific goal, that we can offer to the Lord to help us do better at keeping our covenants.  
2. We are given a wonderful promise in verse 9.  When we attend church (go to the house of prayer) and make sacrifices to help us improve our lives (offer up our sacraments) on Sunday, then we will be able to "more fully keep [ourselves] unspotted from the world."  This a fantastic promise.  If we want to keep ourselves untouched by the world, it only makes since to set aside a day that will help us remember our covenants and refresh our commitment to follow the Savior.
3. I love the commandment in verse 10.  We are asked to rest from our labors one this day, and to worship our Heavenly Father.  When we rest from all the stresses, worries, and commitments that fill up the rest our week, then we can fully devote all of our time and energy to worshiping God on that day and to serving him.  

Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is not an easy thing to do, especially in this busy and noisy world.  How do you keep your Sabbath Day Holy?

-Camille 

Quote of the Day: Featuring President Packer

I have started reading the talks from the last General Conference again.  They were so inspiring and amazing, and I can't help but read them again.  Here is a quote from President Packer's talk, the first one in the opening session. 

"I have come to know that faith is a real power, not just an expression of belief. There are few things more powerful than the faithful prayers of a righteous mother." - President Boyd K. Packer

Wow.  What a profound thing to say.  And the amazing thing is, it is so true.  I have the privilege of hearing my mother pray for me and my siblings almost everyday.  Plus, she has told me many times that she prays for me often.  It is a humbling thing to know that someone is praying for your health, safety, and guidance throughout some of the hardest and easiest days of your life. 

I can't think of many better things than having my mom pray for me, and I look forward to the day when I will be able to pray for my own children. 

D&C 78:18 and The Law of Consecration

In our ward today, our adult Sunday School Classes learned about the Law of Consecration.  We read a verse that doesn't have much to do with the law, but it still struck me as a powerful scripture.  

Doctrine and Covenants 78:18

"And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.  The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours. "

Here are a couple of things that we can learn from this simple verse of scripture:

1. In the first line it says: "ye cannot bear all things now."  At first, it seems a little condescending.  Of course, as prideful humans, we want to be able to bear all things, but we ultimately realize that we can't.  This is simply an acknowledgment from our Heavenly Father that we are unable to do all things.  
2. Even though we know that we cannot bear all things right now in this life, Heavenly Father gives us a wonderful promise in this verse.  He promises us that "[he] will lead [us] along."  We need his help, through the enabling power of the Atonement, to be able to make it through all the trials needed for our progression, and here in this scripture we are given a guarantee for that help.  What a wonderful promise that every person on this earth has been given!
3. Because of this great promise, God commands us to do something in return for His help.  Right before we promises that He will lead us along, He commands us to "be of good cheer."  Sometimes, that is a hard commandment to follow.  It is hard to be happy, especially when we are struggling and in our darkest hour, depending on our Savior's help just to make it through a day.  However, we have the Savior on our side.  How can we not be happy?  We have a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and a fulness of the gospel right at our fingertips.  We are in the fullness of times.  There are so many things for us to be grateful for - we have living prophets to direct us, temples in which we can make sacred covenants with God and seal our families for eternity, and a loving Heavenly Father whom we know we can cry out for hep ANYTIME when we need it.  
4. The next sentence is just as powerful as the last one.  Read this: "The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours."  This revelation was given to Joseph Smith for himself, Sidney Rigdon, and Newel K. Whitney during the early days of the church.  At the time, these were very imperfect men, still trying to learn how to run the church.  But they were faithful, and that was enough for the Lord.  The same promise can be given to us.  We all struggle.  We all have fears.  We all sometimes don't know what to do.  But if we can be of good cheer and follow the Savior, then the riches of eternity will be ours.  That is a powerful promise, and something that we all will desire at some point.  God will take us as imperfect people, and mold us and lead us to be worthy of that wonderful blessing to partake of the riches of eternity and live with Him forever.

-Camille 

P.S.  I would love to hear your comments!  (Please only positive comments, all negative and derogatory comments will be deleted.)