Serving a mission in the New York New York North mission is one a greatest experiences in my life. A couple time a year my mission president sends out an email with some great guidance. I thought the following email was so good I want to share it with anyone who reads my blog.
Dear NYNYNorth RMs,
It’s early Sunday morning and you’re on my mind. We had a glorious mission reunion two weeks ago. Don Gold estimated that there were about 250 of you there. It was so good to feel your love and your goodness. Sister Slack suggested that I write down and send you some of the things that we talked about. I bear you my witness that these things will bless your life.
Our Heavenly Father loves us so much and His greatest desire is to bless us (D&C 41:1). Parents want to bless their children. Bishops and Stake Presidents want to bless their members and this X-Mission President wants to bless you. So here is council that will bless you. I’ll put in the words of several prophets, including Jesus Christ.
When we put God first in our lives, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. (Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, April 1988 GC)
If we have not chosen the kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what we have chosen instead. (quoted by both Pres. Faust and Elder Maxwell)
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and ALL these things shall be added unto you. (Jesus Christ – 3 Nephi 13:33)
I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons to help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. (Pres. Monson – Oct 2008 GC)
There we have it! The longer we serve in the Church and the older we get the simpler the gospel becomes. It is so simple: God wants to abundantly bless us. We want and need His blessings. All we have to do is get our perspective straight and PUT HIM FIRST. When we put Him first, He puts us first – at the front of the line for blessings. After all…He is bound when we do what He says. It’s really a “no brainer”. God is the only one who can deliver, the only one who is omnipotent and holds all the “blessing strings”, the only one who 100% keeps His word, the only one who loves us so much that “He gave His only begotten Son” so that we can be bless eternally. So the thing we need to decide and understand is: What does it really mean in my life to put God first and how do I do it? Think about it this way:
1. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with life and desperately need some outside help, try putting God first by attending the temple regularly. Elder Widtsoe taught in 1943: “These are trying days, in which Satan rages, at home and abroad, hard days, evil and ugly days. We stand helpless as it seems before them. We need help. We need strength. We need guidance. Perhaps if we would do our work in behalf of those of the unseen world who hunger and pray for the work we can do for them, the unseen world would in return give us help in the day of our urgent need. There are more in that other world than there are here. There is more power and strength there than we have here upon this earth.”Remember what Elder Holland just taught us in General Conference: “But in times of special need, He sent angels, divine messengers to bless His children, reassure them that heaven was always very close and that His help was always very near.”
2. If one of your loved ones is struggling and you wish to rescue them, try putting God first each day by studying the scriptures. This is a great insight taught be Elder Eyring: “There is another thing you can do. You can study the word of God, not for yourself alone but to be an emissary of the Lord Jesus Christ…When you increase your power to teach the gospel, you are qualifying to help Heavenly Father in gathering His children. As you do that, another blessing will come. Should the need ever come in family life in this world, or in the world to come, to draw back lost sheep, you will have received more power that you may now recognize.” (April 2008, GC)
3. If you feel like your prayers aren’t being heard and bouncing off of the ceiling, try putting God first by paying your tithing before you pay anyone else (including yourself). The Lord Himself promised that “I will open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” When God’s windows are open to us, He can hear and answer our prayers. Tithing opens those windows.
4. One more. For you married couples, if for some reason there seems to be too much contention on your relationship, try putting God first by kneeling together each night and praying. President Monson promised that as we heed that council “I can then assure you that any misunderstanding that develops during the day will vanish as you pray. You simply can’t pray together and retain any but the best of feeling toward one another.”We could go on and on, but the point is that God can and wants to bless us, but those blessings only come contingent upon eternal laws. The simple way to think about it is: “When we put God first in our lives, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.”We love you and pray for your continued happiness and success. Remember always: D&C 123:17 – The gospel is true.
Last week Lori, Rheannan and I went home to Snowflake to visit my family. On the drive home we decided to stop on the mogollon rim to take a few pictures of the scenery. Oh the beauty of the earth... Arizona has some great views.
