D&C 88:124

"Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated." D&C 88:124
      Wow, that scripture pretty much describes a few of my worst traits; cease to be idle, cease to find fault with another, do not sleep longer than needful, be in bed early, and arise early. Those are a few of the things that I really need to work on.
Let's start by first examining the word, 'idle'.
–adjective

1.

not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing: idleworkers.

2.

not spent or filled with activity: idle hours.

3.

not in use or operation; not kept busy: idle machinery.

Idle describes doing nothing, wasting time. Time is a precious thing on this earth, and though it seems long, it is so very short. Every minute should be used for spiritual and physical growth, not wasted in excess sleep or laziness.

Cease to be unclean. Simply refers to following all the commandments and staying as free as possible from sin.

Finding fault one with another. Now what does that mean? There are several different things that this could mean. First would be finding physical traits that are unattractive on a person and faulting them for things that are not under their control. Second would be blaming others for things that they may not have done, that you've just assumed or that you were told through gossip. Third would be finding fault with someone's  personality. Fourth, someone who might not be on the same level as you, either in spirituality, personality, physical beauty, or physical possessions, and thinking yourself higher than they.

Cease to sleep longer than is needful. That's a hard one, everyone loves to sleep, and it feels so good! Sleeping is an important part of life, keeping your body healthy and rested is a commandment, but too much sleep isn't good for you. All that is required per night is 6-8 hours, unless there is injury or illness, that's really all you need.


Be in bed early, that you may not be weary and arise early that your body and mind may be invigorated. That one is simple, if you are in bed early, you will arise early. It's just actually getting in bed early that's the hard part.

I think that this is a really important scripture to keep in mind. It offers many guidelines to help us stay healthy and be happy. Whenever your body is healthy, you feel better. When your body is sick, weak or in pain, you will automatically feel miserable. So, I challenge everyone to try and work on whichever of these traits that you struggle with. I'll be trying        right along with you. :)

Proverbs 31:10 Virtue

Ok, I was having some trouble coming up with something to write on, and I used school and being busy as an excuse. . .but school is over now, so, no more excuses. lol

I decided to write on my favorite scripture and delve a little more deeply into the short verse. 

The scripture can be found in Proverbs 31:10

"Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies." 

Ok, that seems pretty straightforward, but what is the definition for "virtuous"?

-adjective

1.

conforming to moral and ethical principles; morally 

excellent; upright: Lead a virtuous life.

2.

chaste: a virtuous young person.

I don't think that this applies to women only, I believe that it applies to men as well. Yes, a virtuous woman is wonderful, but doesn't she also deserve a virtuous man? I believe she does. However, a good person, whether man or woman would forgive another no matter what their previous mistakes were. If they are truly repentant then who is a virtuous person to not forgive them? It makes me think of the hymn verse, "Who am I to judge another, when I walk imperfectly." Our true test in this life is not only to try our best to live righteously and be virtuous, but to also forgive those who have made mistakes. 

Anyway back to virtue, virtue means to be chaste, to be pure. In todays world to remain pure and virtuous is a wonderful and blessed gift, not only to the virtuous person but also to their future spouse and children. Virtue is one of the most precious gifts that is given to us, and it is not something that we want to give up willingly. 

Go forth in righteousness and good works. 

Easter

Just wanted to put up a quick post about Easter. . . it's kind of this Sunday, so I'm a little late, and it's Good Friday today. Okay, so, surprisingly enough, Easter has nothing to do with a bunny. The idea of a rabbit came from the whole Pagan holiday idea that Easter is in the spring, and that is the time of birth for most animals, and a rabbit is a traditional sign of fertility. Other than that, there is really is nothing to do with rabbits, candy, gifts and Easter. The true gift is the gift that Jesus' Atonement.

Easter is a time to celebrate Jesus Christ's crucifixion, atonement and resurrection. It is to celebrate His sacrifice for us, He died for us, that we might live. That we can have a choice and a chance to repent for out sins, and be with Him, and Heavenly Father again.

Eternal families

All right, so I've done a lot of preaching, and I've mentioned a lot of different subjects. However, I have neglected to mention one of the most awesome (Or I think the most awesome) difference about our church. Which is eternal families. See, as LDS, we have temples (See picture below) and in these temples there are many different covenants and ordinances that are performed that I don't even know about because I haven't had the amazing opportunity to go through yet, but someday I will.

Anyway, one of the things that is performed in the temple is a marriage sealing, a worthy man and woman can be married and or sealed in the temple for all eternity. All of the children they have will automatically be sealed to them, just for being born under their parent's sealing. Hopefully you're still with me and I'm not confusing you. lol But anyway, I am sealed to my parents forever and we'll always be together.
Anyway, the whole point of this post, is just for me to bear my testimony that I love the temple, I love visiting there, I love seeing it and I am so grateful that we have these holy places in an imperfect world. I am eternally grateful for the blessing of being sealed to my parents forever, and that we will be together forever, and one day I hope to enter the temple with my fiancee and be married/sealed to him for time and all eternity and we will not be separated by death.

Summer

Well, yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day! It was warm and sunny, and just beautiful.

As I look around at the first flowers of spring that are blooming, I think of all of the amazing things that our Heavenly Father has created for us. He created all of these things to beautify His world, for us to enjoy. Spring and summer are the best seasons to me, I love the warmth and the sun. It's hard to be unhappy when the sun shines on your face. Unless you're really hot. lol When I look at all of the amazing things around me, I can't help but know, that this was all created by a higher being. There's no way that our world came along by chance, no way that our perfect, amazing bodies, "evolved" from a lower form. Some believe that yes, there is a God, and he created us and the world, but then he just put us her and abandoned us. No. He loves us, and he watches over us. Yes, He lets bad things happen to good people. We don't know why, but it is for some higher purpose and some higher reason. He answers our prayers, He sent his beloved Son to die and suffer, that we might have a chance to live and return to live with Him someday. This is called the Atonement, and it's available to everyone who is willing to repent and humble themselves with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Easter is a time to remember the Resurrection, and the Atonement. To thing of our dear older brother, Jesus. He loves us and he wants us to return to Him. I hope that everyone takes a few moments out of their day this Easter to think of Him, and the amazing story of him, and his wonderful, perfect love, and his beautiful Plan of Salvation.

General Conference

All right, so today and tomorrow is General Conference. For those who do not know what that is, it is a televised broadcast that is watched all over the world.

It is an opportunity for the President of our church, or Prophet, to address us, and teach us.
When I was younger I never really cared for General Conference, I was like, great, it's like two hours of Sacrament meeting. However, as I've grown and matured, I've realized what a blessing Sacrament meeting is and General Conference.
We have the opportunity for the Prophet of the Lord to speak to us and tell us the things that the Lord wants us to know. It is truly a testament of how much our Heavenly Father loves us and cares for us.
I love listening to the stories and analogies that are told in the conference talks, and the wonderful spirit that I feel when I listen to these amazing men speak.
The conference sessions are on at 12 pm. EST on Sunday and then again at 4 pm. EST. I invite everyone to watch either on the BYU channel in your own home or any ward building nearby.

Eve and the rib

Book recommendation! lol
Last Summer, my parents and Grandma went to Palmyra, New York for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Palmyra, NY is where the church was restored by Joseph Smith, but many hundreds of years earlier, Moroni had buried the golden plates on a certain hill in NY called Hill Cumorah. If you've ever been to the Hill Cumorah pageant, then you know there is a historic town where there are many church buildings, one of which is a great awesome bookstore that sells Mormon products. They sell all kinds of books, cds, dvds, shirts, keychains, scripture cases, jewelry, paintings, statures and figurines, toys and trinkets. Pretty much anything that is church related. lol Anyway, to get off this tangent,
<<<I bought this book there, Women of the Book of Mormon.
It's an interesting book, and it actually explains a lot of gospel doctrine that I didn't know. One of which mentions a certain scripture that always seemed interesting to me.
"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of the ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
Okay, so that sounds pretty confusing. lol In Women of the Book of Mormon, it says,

"President Spencer W. Kimball clarified that the 'rib' was meant figuratively and not a literal statement, and that Eve, like Adam, was a physical child of God.
Upon further analysis, we learn that 'rib' derives from the biblical word tsela which, more accurately, meant, 'side.' The word tsela was used by Jeremiah when he said 'keepers of my tsela,' meaning enduring and everlasting companions (Jeremiah 20:10, Talmud version). This exactly describes Adam and Eve.
God was the supreme builder, and after He had completed everything else, Eve was created. She was not made out of Adam's rib, but she was the rib, in a figurative sense. President Gordon B. Hinckley clarified that 'Eve was the crowning work of creation after he had completed all else.' The words 'bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh' (Genesis 2:23) Indicate that Adam and Eve were bound by the ancient covenant of celestial marriage. And setting the example for us all, they were the first man and woman "sealed together for eternity."

So, according to this book, Eve is a help meet or a part of Adam, not in a figurative sense, but in a spiritual sense. She was his equal and he loved her. They were eternal partners. I'll probably have a post on here for eternal marriage next. But for this post the point is that men and women are meant to work together and love each other, neither is better or higher than the other. Also, people blame Eve for the fall for eating the forbidden fruit, but that's because she knew what she needed to do for her eternal progression. If she wouldn't have eaten the fruit she and Adam would have remained in an innocent state knowing neither sorrow nor joy. There was no way for them to continue their progression until they were made mortal. So, because of Eve's choice, she and Adam were able to start a family, which is why we are all here today.