Becoming
who we are meant to be
I
have written about 4 talks over the past 6 weeks as I fretted over
this moment, and none of them felt right so I wrote this one on
Friday! I was asked to speak on some ambiguous topic, What I managed
to settle on was something that I am still learning, and in all
likelihood will be for the rest of my life.
Becoming
who we are meant to be, that thought, or topic kept coming to mind.
Maybe because it is a life long pursuit, for all of us. There is a
movie, one of my favorites Called Joe Vs The Volcano, that I kept
thinking of, and as his metaphoric guardian angle says “I can't
tell you who you are” but he goes on to help him along his way. I
can't tell you who you are but I will list some tools I have found
that have helped me along the way, so far.
First
I want to tell you a little about my jumping off point, hopefully it
will remind you of one of your own.
I
remember as a Kid my mom waking My sister up for Church one morning.
She Rolled over and growled, “I am not going to church any more!”
My sister having missed the previous week incensed the spirit to
guide my mom to say “Fine, you get one more week! But we McCall's
Go to church.” The Next week She was up and ready to go, and every
week Following.
Our
last names can define us, and sometimes we define, or redefine our
last name.
Okay
on to my hints.
Hint
one.
Make
a list. If you don't write it down it is just a dream; rather than a
Goal.
Elder
Carl B Cook spoke of a moment he had with Pres. Monson, when he was
struggling under the new mantle he was given as a general Authority.
After being lifted by his Cheerfulness, optimism and great faith in
the lord, he saw how much Pres Monson “Trusts in the Lord and
relies on him for strength, and the Lord blesses him”
now,
who wouldn't want to be those things?
They
can be the most simple things. To be happy, to focus more on the
positive. Increase faith, gain a testimony, not hit your brother
today. In the Church we have so many shining examples before us. I
will never forget my young Womens leader when I was 12. Her name was
Tracey. She loved horses, she was kind and faithful. Always willing
to listen to me jabber on at the speed of light for indeterminate
amounts of time. At times I may feel, “I will never be as patient
or kind as Tracey Pringle, or as Sweet as Rose and Silvannah”, but
It is on my list, I have another 60 to 70 years to perfect that those
things! Hopefully it wont take that long, because I have a long list.
Hint
2
Read
Your Patriarchal Blessing.
What
an immeasurable gift they are. They are scripture just for us. They
are sacred, not to be boasted of or freely shared. They are sacred.
A
Patriarchal blessing gives us guidance, sometimes they can be a gimps
of our life before we came here. Some list and clarify the gifts we
have , or may have. What a wonderful blessing. They are a map.
When we get lost, it can and will guide us back to progression.
Pres. Monson wrote in the the feb 2010 liahona
“Your patriarchal blessing is yours
and yours alone. It may be brief or lengthy, simple or profound.
Length and language do not a patriarchal blessing make. It is the
Spirit that conveys the true meaning. Your blessing is not to be
folded neatly and tucked away. It is not to be framed or published.
Rather, it is to be read. It is to be loved. It is to be followed.
Your patriarchal blessing will see you through the darkest night. It
will guide you through life’s dangers. … Your patriarchal
blessing is to you a personal Liahona to chart your course and guide
your way. …”
Hint
3
Learn
the Nature of God.
How
many of you have been told how much you look like your parents? How
many of you have ever said something, stopped and said “woah that
is totally something my MOM/Dad would say!”
If
you haven't, now I have said it, and, if I do flatter myself that you
will remember I said it, will notice in short time, that you do. I
notice my moms laugh, and hi frequency shriek of joy when I am
playing with my puppy.
As
we Come to better understand the nature of God, we better understand
our potential and Privileges. We can know him better than we now
know him. There is great comfort in having a personal, and close
relationship With our Heavenly father. As Pres Uchdorf said, and I
quote this a lot “We are nothing compared to God yet To God we are
everything.”
When
you know him, When you talk to him morning noon and night the tasks
on your list, the characteristics on your list, no longer seem as
daunting or unreachable. You have the all powerful Father in your
corner, cheering you on.
And
as we get to know him better, we will begin to see him More clearly
in us. There is that country song from my early childhood that comes
to mind. I am starting to see My father in me.
Hint
#5
Don't
get distracted. Don't fall into Satans ploys, plots, or traps. That
stop our progression and stunt our growth in spirit, mind, and lives.
There
is this fantastic series Rob and I read together. In this adventure
series there was a place called the Lotus Hotel. It offered
everything you could want, Food, entertainment, relaxation,
excitement, all free of charge. They get stuck there for a time and
when they try to leave, they notice, they wasted a great deal of time
they didn't have and, The hero knows that had they stayed he would
soon forget his life, and his quest.
That
is one way we get snared. I am sure as the awkward pre teen I was, if
told to make a list, top of mine would have been, “BE PRETTY!”
Satan wants us to only focus on the superficial stuff. Out ward
appearances, things that really don't matter, and cant last.
We
have been given Blessings, the world would call them rules. But
really they are things to keep us free. the Word of Wisdom keeps us
free from addiction, Healthy and keen minded. The Word of wisdom is a
physical and spiritual blessing.
Pres
Packers Address “How to survive in Enemy Territory” gives a
better picture of the Mine field we live in. But in interest of time
I will share just the first bit.
I want to tell you that which will be of most worth and most desirable. The scriptures say, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom,” and I would add, “with all [your] getting get [going!]”1 I do not have time to waste and neither do you.”
Time wasters are another insidious Trap. Time wasters can be anything, Video games, TV, movies, vanity, even literature, sports, anything that claims so much of your time and or thoughts it prevents you from becoming who and what you are designed to become. In 2 nephi 9:27 it says
27 But
wo unto him that has the law
given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and
that btransgresseth
them, and that cwasteth
the days of his dprobation,
for awful is his state!
We live in a time so full of idle pursuits, people are falling like flies to this. If Satan can keep us looking down at a screen he barely has to try to keep us from progressing. The other day as I was busy facebooking, Riley came in the office and Asked “why are you watching that? Why don't you want to watch us?” I was duly chastised.
We are told in Mosiah 4:30 to watch our thoughts, words and deeds. because our thoughts define our character as George Albert Smith said “when your life is complete in mortality, it will be the sum of your thoughts”.
And Another, Please don't fall into the “just give up you will never be good enough” snare. That one is a spiritual, and emotional, Bear trap.
The others passify and lull us to sleep. To quote Joe Vs the Volcano again, “My father says the whole world is asleep...he says that only a few are awake and they live in a state of constant, total amazement” Satan wants us to waist our time here, to be damned or stopped up. In 2 nephi 1:13 it says
13 O
that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep,
yea, even from the sleep of hell,
and shake off the awful chains
by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children
of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf
of misery and woe.
So that hint summed up, Don't be a Zombie.
Hint 6
Be Patient with yourself. Repent or turn to God daily. Include our Father in heaven in all Goals, whether it be spiritual, Mental, or physical,. This may sound strange. But Before I exercise ever day, I kneel Down and ask heavenly Father for the strength and determination to get through it. And even ENJOY it. So far its working. IT had made a HUGE difference.
Hint 7
Along the way, for this is an ETERNAL endeavour, we MUST look at ourselves through the only eyes that can see us perfectly. The eyes of our saviour. The worlds eyes only see one shallow layer at a time. One shallow distorted layer. They Can Never see the full masterpiece. For that is the miracle of our mortality, everyday we become a masterpiece. It is up to us to decide whose Gallery we will hang in.
I would like to leave you with a quote I saw on kelly Bunnages FB, that I think makes it pretty clear what we are meant to be.
"KNOWEST THOU NOT THAT THOU ARE A SPARK OF DEITY STRUCK FROM THE FIRE OF ETERNAL BLAZE AND BROUGHT FORTH IN THE MIDST OF ETERNAL BURNINGS?" -John Taylor
I would like to bare my testimony
As we harken to D&C 121:45 “Let Virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly that thy confidence may wax strong in the presence of god” we will be truly happy living in total amazement at Gods Glory and gifts all around us. And we will become what we are eternally meant to be. Light, intelligence, joy Charity and faith.
I say these things in The Name of he that makes all this possible, even Jesus Christ, amen.
