Discouragement

Discouragement. Discouragement is a powerful, negative force. Discouragement can kill motivation and prevent a person from acting. Discouragement is a dark, unyielding state of mind. Discouragement is a tool Satan uses to keep us from reaching our full potential.

In a recent family home evening, I cautioned my family against discouragement. I counseled them to not let discouragement prevent them from working towards their goals. Sometimes we miss an assignment, fail a test, get a bad grade on a project. Sometimes it may seem that these failures will ruin all of our plans. Sometimes they make the future look bleak. These are the times we must pick ourselves up and not let discouragement prevent us from continuing our journey.

Even after relating this to my family, I have found myself discouraged recently. You see, I have very high expectations of myself. For years, I have been somewhat complacent in sharing my testimony of Jesus Chris with others. But, recently, a fire has ignited in my soul.

I began pondering on who I want to be and what Heavenly Father would expect of me. That quickly changed to what would I expect of myself. I realized that I probably have higher expectations of myself that He has of me. I realized that my expectations are that I would work as hard as anyone else in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I began to think of the spiritual giants who accomplished so much during their life here on earth. Enoch preached the gospel at a time of great wickedness in the world and was able to build a city so righteous that the Lord eventually took it up unto Himself. Melchizedek helped turn the entire city of Salem from wickedness to righteousness and was referred to as the Prince of Peace. There are many other such examples in the Scriptures. How could I ever measure up to these individuals?

The desire to do something burned within me. I may not be able to accomplish what they did, but I can do something. However, I had no idea what to do. Where could I start? My sphere of influence is so small. Would it be possible to increase that sphere of influence? I decided that I could at least share my testimony and thoughts on the internet. I already had a blog that I have neglected. I also have a Facebook account and can make posts there. That's where I decided to start.

It felt good to have an outlet for the things that have been swelling in my heart. I don't write all that well, it's too difficult to find the right words, but it was still a way to share what I have come to know. I was actually quite pleased with some of the thoughts I shared. But then, the discouragement came. There are so many others already doing the same thing. They have many more followers that I do. They have a much larger sphere of influence. What can I offer that is any different that what others already do? It is even worth it? Such have been my thoughts in recent days.

In that state of discouragement, I was reading an article in the January 2015 Ensign this morning. The article is titled "The Road to a Forever Family" and written by Garth and Sandy Hamblin. In the article, Liu 'Akau'ola is quoted as saying,

“I learned that the more we try to get closer to the Lord’s house the more Satan tries to get us to give up before we get the blessing.”

She was referring to taking her family to the Temple, but it was just what I needed this morning. I realized that the discouragement I was feeling was just Satan's attempt to get me to give up, to keep me from doing the Lord's work and from realizing the blessings that come from it. Discouragement. Isn't that what I warned my family about? It seems that lesson may have been for me.

I may have to be content with my small circle of influence, and nothing grand may ever come from my efforts. But, I believe I need to press forward and not let discouragement prevent me from at least trying.

This time, Discouragement, you lose. I prayer such will be the case the next time we meet as well.

Source of Hate and Evil

This is a difficult topic, but it has been on my mind for a while. Events of this week have amplified the need to address this topic. I don't know how to express what is in my mind and my heart, but I hope I can put something meaningful into words. And, I hope in some way, my words can impact others to help spur a change in the world. Our world is currently filled with hate. We see the effects of it everywhere. As I mentioned, events of this week have shown to a degree how much hate is out there. On the other side of the world, there was a group that murdered many children in a school. Just tonight I read that 2 police officers were murdered in New York and people are celebrating their execution.

I don't know about you, but I have been very blessed in my life such that I have not had to deal with the hate that exists in this world. I have a great family, live in a nice community and have great co-workers. I have been greatly blessed that I have been isolated (or protected) from the evils that come from all of this hate. I believe I have been oblivious to it for a long time. Unfortunately, I think too many of us are either ignorant of it or are in denial of it. Well, if recent events have not convinced us of the growing hatred in the world, perhaps we will never see it. But it is there. And it is growing.

As I was driving this evening after having read about the execution of the police officers, I was pondering on how awful this was. It was bad enough that they were killed, but for Americans to celebrate the murder and congratulate the killers was beyond my belief. As I was thinking on this and the hate behind it, the Christmas Carol, O Holy Night, began to play on the radio. I was immediately caught up in the contrast between the hate exhibited in these murders and the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. My heart ached as I remembered that He had suffered for all sins and considered the anguish He must have suffered because of the hate that is in the world today. I can't express in words how I felt as I considered it, but it was powerful. I am pleading with you, with all the energy and feeling of my soul to please take a few moments and reflect on your life as well as the state of the world. Please take some time to consider what I write here and give these words a chance to grow within your heart and mind. I ask this because I fear for all of us. If this hatred continues to grow, it will spread everywhere and will destroy the lives of many. The only way we can stop all of this hate is to recognize it, identify its source and fight back to replace it with love.

There is an enemy behind all of this hate. First, we must accept that there is evil in the world. I know that for years, popular opinion and moral relativism have been preaching that there is no absolute evil. Well, there is and we must come to accept it before we can begin to combat it. I am going to explain the origin of this evil and who this enemy is. Many may say that this is just my belief or what my religion teaches me. But I am telling you that I know what I am about to write is true. I have personal witness that it is true and I know that if you will take the time to consider it, something inside of you will recognize this as truth as well.

Our existence did not begin with our birth on earth. We all lived before, but we did not have physical bodies in our life before birth. We existed as spirits. In this existence, we were limited in our potential for growth. We had (and still have) a loving Father who had progressed much farther than any of us. As our Father, He desired that we would be able to progress, even as he had, and to have all of the joy that He has. However, in our state as spirits, this was not possible. So, He presented a plan that would allow us to progress. This plan included birth on earth. In order for us to grow and progress, we would need the ability to make our own choices. We would need to be able to make mistakes and learn from them. It is a good plan and I am sure we were all very excited to participate in it.

However, there was an alternative plan proposed. This alternative plan would take away the ability to make our own choices. Instead, we would be forced to make the right choices so that we did not make mistakes. This plan threatened to take away our agency, or the right to choose for ourselves. This alternative plan was rejected by our Father, which should have been the end of it. But, the author of this other plan, did not accept that decision and he rebelled. In his rebellion, he convinced many to follow him and he commenced a war against all those who did not agree with him. This war, that was started before any human lived on earth, was waged to destroy our souls.

In the first phase of the war, Satan, the author of the alternative plan, lost and was cast out. Again, that should  have been the end of it, but it was not. He continues to fight that war and he is raging it now harder than ever. He is the source of evil and all the hatred in the world today. His goal is to make us as miserable as possible. I am sure he still hates everyone who rejected him previously and wants nothing more than destroy as many as he can. Satan uses many tactics in this war. The key for us to defeat him again is to recognize those tactics and fight back. It should be very clear that one of his most successful tactics today is to instill hatred in the hearts of men and women.

Some of you who read this already know this. Others may not believe it or even question why it matters. I believe it is extremely important that we remember who the enemy is. Often, when I read of the heinous acts being performed these days, I wonder why would someone do that? What could possibly be the motivation for doing something so awful? If we want to turn the tide of evil and hatred in the world, we have to get to the root of the problem. We cannot just keep treating the symptoms. It should be obvious to us now that treating the symptoms is not working. The world continues to tail-spin into more and more hate and evil acts. This is why I believe it matters to identify where the evil and hate stems from and why it is important that we know that it is a continuation of a war that started long ago.

I often feel like we are like frogs in a pot of water. The temperature continues to rise, but we don't notice it because it changes gradually. This hate and evil did not come upon us all at once. But, it's here now and if we don't recognize it, we'll be cooked soon. I am trying to raise the voice of warning: the pot is just about to boil, let's get out.

So, how did Satan wage this war and get us to this state of danger? I'm not going to go into that in detail now, but suffice to say that I'm confident he has been waging the way on multiple fronts. One is to remove God from our lives. Another is to create counterfeit religions so that he can use belief in false gods to lead people into evil acts. Which then helps take the true God out of our lives because if we see that some religions are bad, then maybe we'll believe that they all are. There are many ways he is conducting this war and I believe if you take some time to think about it, you will recognize many of them yourself. One key you can use as you try to discern his tactics is to remember his original intent: to take away our ability to choose for ourselves.

Once we recognize that Satan is the enemy and the source of evil and hate, the answer on how to fight back and turn the tide of hate in the world falls into place. We must bring God back into our lives. Satan was originally defeated and cast out because we accepted our Father's plan and decided to follow Him. We need to make that decision again. He knew that Satan would continue to wage this war on earth, so He provided a means for us to overcome Satan here as well. God sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ to show us an example of how we should live and to provide an Atonement for us so that we could overcome evil and sin. The only way to combat Satan and begin to rid the world of all the hate that fills it today, is to live the teachings of Jesus Christ. He summed up His teachings by saying that we must love God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Love for God and for one another can change the world.  But it means we all must act.

I don't know if you and I can change the world, but I think we need to try. I know that we defeated Satan before by standing together and I know that he will be defeated again. But, I fear that his defeat this time will only come after he has destroyed many more lives here on earth. If we begin to act together to push back, to share the knowledge of our Father in Heaven and His plan for us, to expose Satan and his evil designs, to spread the love of God and our fellow man (and woman), perhaps we can make a difference and slow the spread of hate in the world.

I don't know how well I did in expressing my thoughts. I hope that the meaning and message I have felt in the deepest places of my heart can find at least a small place in yours. Please think on these things; consider them. I, for one, am deeply saddened by the hate I see in our country and the world and want to do something to fight back. If I can do nothing more than help expose the source and convince a few of the solution, then at least that is something.

Is there a God?

I heard that someone recently said that faith is the belief in something for which there is no evidence. I don't believe that is correct. Belief in something with no evidence is just wishful thinking. Faith requires that there is evidence. I've heard people say that they do not believe in God because they cannot see him. Or, they say there is no evidence of a God. These are weak arguments because, I can assure you that my faith in God is based on evidence.

I find it interesting that many of these same people who do not believe in God have a lot of trust in the scientific method. Don't get me wrong, I also believe in the scientific method. In fact, I think a parallel to the scientific method can be used by every individual to also come to the knowledge that there is a God. Before I get into that, let's consider some recent science. The scientific method usually begins with someone making a hypothesis about how things may be. Then, the scientist forms experiments to find evidence that the hypothesis is correct. If the experiments give the expected results, the scientist concludes that the hypothesis was correct. Let's consider the Higg's particle. This is a tiny particle that scientists believe exists because it fits their current models. No one has ever seen such a particle, nor will anyone ever see such a particle. However, we have built very expensive, very large equipment to conduct experiments that will give evidence that such a particle exists. In fact, a group of scientists believe they have done just that. Here is a particle that cannot be seen, cannot be touched and yet most of the scientific community is convinced that it exists. Now they believe they even have evidence of it. At least a small group of scientists who conducted the experiments have the evidence. Everyone else just trusts that the information was obtained correctly and is accurate.

So, how does this relate to being able to know there is a God? We can follow a similar process. There are experiments that everyone can perform. In this case, it is even better than the experiments to find evidence of the Higg's particle because everyone has access to the tools needed to conduct these experiments rather than just a select few. Of course it takes effort and work on our part to get this evidence, just like it takes work to apply the scientific method for any other reason. If a scientist is not diligent in conducting the experiments and he fails to get results, that does not mean the hypothesis was wrong, just that the proper work was not done to verify it. 

Here are some simple steps to know that there is a God. First, learn about him. Read his words. This can best be done by reading scriptures. I highly recommend the New Testament or The Book of Mormon. Second, ponder on the scriptures that you read. Think about them and try to understand them. Third, try to live some of the principles you learn from reading the scriptures such as treating others as you would like to be treated. Fourth, prayer and ask God if he is there and ask Him to make Himself know to you. If you sincerely follow these steps, you will receive your own personal evidence that there is a God, that He love you and that you have a purpose here on earth. I have received this evidence for myself. My faith is not just wishful thinking, it is based on the evidence that I have received in my life that I cannot deny. 

One more parallel I think we can gain from the search for the Higg's particle. As I mentioned, only a few have access to the equipment to actually run the experiments. Everyone else relies on their word that the results are as they say. If so many are willing to rely on the word of a few on scientific matters, why can we not do the same when it pertains to God. In this case, unlike a particle no one has ever seen, there have been men that have seen God. Moses records in his writings that he spoke with God face-to face. In modern times, Joseph Smith testified that he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Many others have seen angels and have testified of it. We have witnesses that there is a God. They have seen Him and heard His voice. That is much better than experimental evidence of a tiny particle of matter. But, don't take my word for it. As I mentioned early, the great thing about this experiment is that it is available to everyone, not just the few who have access to a super-collider.