JANUARY WRITER'S CHALLENGE

Love More, Try Harder

It often seems that the harder one tries to do what’s right, the more trials and obstacles one faces. It is somewhat comforting to know that the Savior himself was tempted and tried just as we are, although he obviously has the greater advantage. St. Matthew 4: 1,10 &11 says, “Then was Jesus ^aled up of the Spirit into the wilderness ^bto be ^ctempted of the devil. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, ^aSatan: for it is written, Thou shalt ^bworship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, ^aand, behold, ^bangels came and ministered unto him.”

While it is often easier said than done to follow Christ’s example, His example remains the sure and only way to eternal life. As I often fall to my knees to plead for guidance, I find that many of my prayers are answered by the whisperings to either love more or try harder.

Love More

In Matthew 22:37&38 we read, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt ^alove the Lord thy God with all thy ^bheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy ^cmind. This is the first and great ^acommandment.” We also know that the second great commandment states in verse 39, “Thou shalt ^alove thy neighbour as thyself.” Our love for our Father in Heaven is obviously most important. If we love him, we keep his commandments, and we begin to care more easily for our brothers and sisters. But, it is also often a fact that the person who needs our love most is the one that is hardest to love. It can be trying to our relationships and personal growth if we let hurt feelings, mistakes, weaknesses, and grudges come between us. So how can we love others when it is most difficult? Probably the easiest way to change our hearts and frame of mind toward some one is to serve them. Recently I heard a story of a family that as they sat around the dinner at night, the father would ask them, not what they had done that day, but what they had done for someone else. Asking our family or ourselves this daily is a great way to change our mindset and to expand our compassion.

Try Harder

There is ALWAYS, ALWAYS something more we can do. As humans, we are often weaker than our spirits. We tend to look for the easy way out, the path of least resistance. When a particular trial stands in my way, I often find that as I pray, it is revealed to me that I haven’t yet done all of my part. There seems to be always something more to try or do. Sometimes we see what must be done right away, but are too scared to follow through, or we start looking for the easier path. 1 Nephi 3:7 “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” May we each find the courage and obedience to first do all that we can on our own, THEN go to our Father in heaven with what we truly lack.

As the New Year begins, I find that these two things are something that I can really spend more time developing and working on. I would like to be able tell my Father in Heaven that yes, in my life, I learned to love more and I tried my hardest.

PRAY ALWAYS

"To access information from heaven, one must first have a firm faith and a deep desire. One needs to 'ask with a sincere heart [and] real intent, having faith in [Jesus] Christ' (Moroni 10:4). 'Real intent' means that one really intends to follow the divine direction given."

Russell M. Nelson, "Ask, Seek, Knock," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 81

Topics: Prayer, Faith

2 Nephi 32:8-9
And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

THE THOUGHT

Prayer By Ziff

Yesterday in church, the topic was on prayer and how our prayers are answered not according to when or what we want, but when God wants us to have it and what God wants us to have. The point was raised that if we had all of our prayers answered all of the time, there would be no sorrow, no illness, no suffering. By not being allowed to experience those things, we wouldn't know happiness, well-being or the joys of redemption or the atonement. I sat there and pondered for a minute. I wondered if that is how Lucifer fell from grace in the sight of God. I imagine that Lucifer's plan was close to what God wanted. We know he wanted to make everyone return to God but he wasn't chosen to carry the burden that Jesus would have to bear because of his plan to remove agency from the plan of happiness. I am glad to know that I will experience earthly things according to Gods will and not my own. It brings joy to my soul to know that for every illness, pain, and suffering, I can over come those things and with help from God, truly experience happiness.