I can’t even begin to express how excited and eager I am to head out for Hungary!! I have to say, the language has been difficult to learn for sure. It is a constant battle to keep up with all of our studies, diligence, and exact obedience. I know that each of us in the MTC (or out in the mission field, or in life at home) have had to deal with some amount of doubts, fears, or not feeling good enough for whatever reason. WE ALL FEEL IT. Let me clue you in on a little secret: Elder Packer, a previous member of the quorum of the twelve apostles said; “There is one emotion that we as the Quorum of the Twelve do not experience.” Curious? Well the answer is “Fear.” Fear and faith simply cannot exist simultaneously! Just like how we cannot follow the ways of the world and be a follower of Christ at the same time, we’re either facing one way or the other, and don’t forget that we can ALWAYS turn around." Chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel is all about Christlike attributes. Fear is nowhere to be found in that chapter!
Think about this moment in the New Testament:
Luke 8:23-24
23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
How fearless would you have to be to sleep through such a storm while everyone else is frantic and fearing for their lives? Probably perfectly fearless, as we know Christ is the perfect example for us. No feeling of fear, doubt, or inadequacy is of God, remind yourself that every time you find yourself plagued with a feeling such as those.
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Our Heavenly Father wants nothing more than our eternal joy and salvation, He is on our side, He loves us and He loves YOU so perfectly and entirely that we will never be able to comprehend it. Keep moving forward --one step at a time if you have to-- but KEEP MOVING FORWARD. No fear, no doubt, trusting only in the Lord, and you’ll realize that He was carrying you all along.
I want to share with you all something powerful I have learned this past week. Practically all my life, I have been asking “How do I know if my thoughts or promptings are of myself, or of the Spirit of God?” I have never truly doubted the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that He Atoned for our sins and sorrows, or that He lives now and forever. BUT, understanding the Spirit and the way that it communicates to us individually, is something we all have to work for. In fact, it is a lifelong pursuit! This week has, in particular, shed some light on the subject.
Elder David A. Bednar said that the most asked question of the apostles is “How do you know if it’s the Spirit or just you?” (surprise surprise). Do you want to know what his response to that was? It was not really what I was expecting either! He said “QUIT WORRYING ABOUT IT.” It’s our second guessing that gets us! We need to have more trust and faith in the Lord. We need to have more faith and trust that He’s watching over us, and He knows what He’s doing. Of course we should seek the Spirit, but Elder Bednar was trying to get the point across that our worrying and doubting (<-- sound familiar?) will not help us! He said in order to have the Spirit, we must:
Press forward with faith in Jesus Christ
Be a good boy or girl
Honor our covenants
Keep the commandments
It’s as simple as that. In following those, we are able to have and invite the Spirit always. Elder Bednar also promised us wonderful blessings if we do follow those steps, and invite the Spirit:
Your steps will be guided
Your mouths will be filled
You’ll be in the right place at the right time, and you won’t even know how you got there!
There are no coincidences, there are no accidents. The Lord guides us every step of the way. Act on your spiritual promptings as Joseph Smith did when he read James 1:5 (If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.).
The Tuesday night devotional was by Elder Brent A. Nielson and his wife, Sister Marcia Nielson. Sister Nielson spoke first, and hit me the hardest. She focused on the Spirit, and told us a story about when she was deciding whether or not to marry Elder Nielson. This is what her father told her when she was struggling to know her answer:
“The Holy Ghost is in you like breathing. You’re breathing all the time. You don’t stop to think about how you’re breathing until your head is under water. You need to take time to stop, and listen, and realize.”
Elder Nielson also talked about the Spirit, and he said: “Asking where the Spirit is, is like a fish asking where water is.”
When those statements were made, the way the Spirit works in my life suddenly clicked in my mind! I know that growing up in the gospel can make it hard for a person to recognize the Spirit for what it is because they can have it so constantly, but somehow the words of dear Elder and Sister Nielson helped me understand even further. I feel that the combination of Elder Bednar’s, Elder Nielson’s, and Sister Nielson’s responses, complete each other perfectly in widening my Spiritual perspective. Worrying has maybe, possibly, at some point been a thing I’ve had work work on… Okay, you’ve got me, I’ve had to train myself well to control it. I feel like I’ve gotten a good rein on it now, but I know I can always do more. I sometimes get so caught up in trying to find every little aspect that I need to improve on, that it may be a negative thing at a point.
Szeretlek titeket!
Sister Alger
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