Trust In God

Hello Everyone, surprisingly it hasn't really snowed yet, or at least snowed and stuck.  But the temperature is dropping, and Winter is just about on us.  The good thing is as soon as it starts snowing we can start hoping for Spring to come back!

Today it'd just like to share a short scripture, but one that has stood out to me recently.  It comes out of the 58th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants in which guidance from the Lord is given and many great pearls of wisdom are given, such as the one I wish to focus on today:

31. Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled? 

By far one of my favorite styles of writing is the use of questions, either rhetorical or literal.  In this case the question is more rhetoric.  The Lord points out to us that he has fulfilled all his promises.  If we keep his commandments he has promised blessings, and God is ever-faithful.  From Preach My Gospel in Chapter 6 under the Christlike attribute of Hope it says that hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill his promises.  

That is something that this message brings: hope.  We hope for a brighter future, and eventually a perfect brightness as we press forward through the mists of mortality.  It is through this trust in God that our relationship is built.  For without trust, would our actions fall in line with what he has asked?  Likely not.  From this verse I ask myself the question: Do I trust God?  And more often than not I gauge my trust by a review of my actions.  If I trust that God will bless me as I attend church, am I attending church?  Or if I trust god that he will bless me as I pray daily, am I honestly saying earnest prayers daily?  Questions are the basis for growth in knowledge, I feel that some of my earlier posts have highlighted this fact well enough.  But it's these simple questions, and oft-times simple answers that are able to create the necessary course-corrections needed to stay on the straight and narrow, and not wander into broad roads and be lost.  

Take hope that God is capable and remembers the promises he has made.  Surely God commands, but just as surely does God bless those that obey.  This simple fact I know, for it has been the sustaining influences of his blessings that have kept me afloat over the past year, and it is those sustaining blessings that keep us afloat during all of life's tempests.  I hope and pray that you all have a great week, and truly "with joy...draw water out of the wells of salvation." (2 Nephi 22:3)

Love, Elder Gailey

Commitments and Goals

Hello Everyone, I wish for this week to simply share some thoughts of mine on one of my favorite quotes that can be found in Preach My Gospel.  

It comes from Chapter 8 entitled "How So I Use Time Wisely?" and reads simply:

“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.” 

-Elder M. Russell Ballard

Within our mission we have had a great focus on commitments and covenants and being true to what we say we're going to do.  Looking back I've actually spoken a number of times recently on this topic.  As with almost every skill learned on a mission, goal setting and committing have applications to our lives before and after our missionary service.  If you a truly committed to a goal, little will stop you from finding time and allocating resources to achieve that goal.  But problems arise when we don't want what we want badly enough to sacrifice for it.  If we truly want to understand the scriptures more, we have to sacrifice time that we could use on other things.  If we want to grow closer to our Father in Heaven, we have to sacrifice time to pray to him with "all the energy of heart" as the Book of Mormon puts it.  

In life, we have a finite amount of time to do things that we want to do.  We can't pour ourselves purely into things that can be classified as time-sinks, or hobbies or activities that you can pour endless hours into with the same outcome.  With our time we should strive to be good stewards of the time we have been allotted.  By setting, and most importantly achieving, goals we are able to use that time wisely because we comprehend that we have a need to accomplish a task in a finite amount of time.  If we fail to do so, as Elder Ballard alludes to, we'll fail to use our time wisely and pour a great deal of time into things that do little to help us grow, learn, and progress.  

I know that before my mission, I sunk my time into many things that didn't exactly have the greatest worth, and it's serving now as a wonderful contrast of how well I'm expected to use my time on my mission.  I've mostly overcome my well-honed skill of procrastination (mostly).  But I'm sure the real test lies ahead, as with all of us.  Greater trials of our work ethic and time management skills lie ahead, and I know that as we perform positively we will gain skills and confidence that will surely aid us later in life and in the eternities.  After all, isn't God able to fulfill all of his words?  And should we not strive to do that amongst ourselves with the goals we set for ourselves?  

I hope you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Gailey

Oaths and Promises

Hello Everyone! 

As I was reading in the Book of Mormon with a Recent Convert while I was on exchange with another Elder in the Zone, we read the following passage that stood out to me:

"And I spake unto him, even with an oath, that he need not fear; that he should be a free man like unto us if he would go down in the wilderness with us...and it came to pass that Zoram did take courage at the words which I spake" (1 Nephi 4:33-35)

This passage stands out to me in the fact that all it took to calm Zoram was a promise from Nephi.  A simple verbal commitment was all it took to turn a frightened servant into a loyal friend.  In this scenario Nephi was holding all of the cards, so to speak.  Zoram had no bargaining power or leverage which he could apply on the sons of Lehi.  So why would Zoram take such heart at a simple verbal promise made by a young man?  I think a large part of the reason rests on the fact that in ancient Israel, a man's word was law.  By the testimony of a mere two witnesses, judgement could be passed.  No need for surveillance footage or fingerprinting services back in the days of Zedekiah (barring the obvious reason that there weren't any at the time).  

So the testimony and witness of two men was held as truth, and lest we think Nephi was alone in wanting Zoram to come into the wilderness, there would have at least been Sam who would understand the import of not wanting Zoram to return to Jerusalem.  Here Zoram had two witneses (if not a begrudging witness from Laman and Lemuel as well) that if he went down unto the tent of Lehi, that he would be a free man and no longer a servant.  

When we ponder on the importance of keeping our commitments and promises it's good to remember that the Lord specifically commanded us to not bear any false witness when he gave the 10 Commandments to the children of Israel on top of Mount Sinai.  Our Heavenly Father is perfectly truthful, and can fulfill all of his promises with exactness.  We too must learn, by trial and error in some circumstances, the importance of doing the same.  Honesty is a heavenly virtue.  It is a virtue that was well held by civilizations of old, and must find it's way back into our current culture.  Honesty is a godly virtue, and as such deserves our attention when pondering ways that we can grow closer to the Savior.  

Honesty is one of those Christlike attributes that I've brushed over in the past, but recently I have found great wisdom and insight as I have worked on being honest in my dealings.  I know that great blessings come as we are honest, for in honesty we are being the polar opposite of Satan who was a liar from the beginning.  Let us all be honest.  With honesty, all things are made better.  

I love you all, and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Gailey

"I Will Give You The Good of the Land"

Hello Everyone, it's been a surprisingly beautiful Fall week here in Ballston Spa, it hasn't snowed and stuck yet, but it's getting mighty chilly in the nights.  I guess Winter is almost upon us, but that means Spring is just around the corner!

This week I wish to relate a thought that was given in a Ward Council meeting that I was sitting in on once.  At the beginning a spiritual thought was shared by a member of the council in which he shared the a few select verses from Genesis chapter 45.  By way of introduction, now is the time in the book of Genesis when Joseph, the once youngest son of Israel, has been in the land of Egypt for a great many years.  He has worked as a servant in Potiphar's house, been throw into prison for many years, interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, and was overseer of Egypt's food storage program through the 7 years of plenty and is currently managing the stores in the 7 years of famine.  His brothers come from the land of Canaan to purchase food from the Egyptians during this famine.  After revealing his true identity to his brothers and the reunion that followed, Pharaoh commanded Joseph, his second in command, to do a few things in the following verses:

18. And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt,and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

19. Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

20. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

Joseph his commanded to get his family and bring them to Egypt.  We likewise are commanded to gather our family, past and present, and join our Father in Heaven.  And in like manner we are commanded to "regard not [our] stuff" for the blessings of heaven are ours.  I know that at the end of the day, the point of this life is to be able to return to live with our Father in Heaven.  It truly is the greatest purpose in heaven to live as a family together in time and eternity.  

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Gailey

God Gave us Mothers for a Purpose

       

Conference talks are a source of strength and this week I would like to share my thoughts of one talk in particular.  

When Elder Jeffrey R. Holland began to speak about the divine and grand nature of Mothers past and present, my thoughts jumped immediately to my Mother.  I thought of her influence, guidance, protection, time, energy, and forethought that have gone into my life thus far and will continue to be a part of my life even as I grow older and gain 'independence' (though are any of us truly independent of our mothers?).  As I pondered I had to agree with Elder Holland and his assertion "that no love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child".  When we ponder the love of God for us and the love and understanding that Christ has for us, we're left in sheer awe that a being could possess so perfectly the heavenly attribute of charity.

A moment that struck me deeply was when Elder Holland related the story of a dear friend who was passing from this life to the next.  As part of his musings at the closing of his life he stated that "however painful it is going to be for me to stand before God, I cannot bear the thought of standing before my mother. The gospel and her children meant everything to her. I know I have broken her heart, and that is breaking mine."  I thought about the love of my Mother and the worry I must have instilled and the sorrow she surely felt as I made mistakes throughout my life.  But I know that through these trials and experiences of mine that my mother, in similar fashion to the Savior, "hath borne [my] griefs, and carried [my] sorrows".  Though in this life I don't have my Heavenly Parents standing by my side visible to the mortal eye while I go though mortality, I do have my mother.  In many instances the voice of my Mother has come to me in my mind to lead me aright and keep me on the straight and narrow.  We may pass through this life separated from heaven, but a righteous and diligent mother is the next best thing. 

God gave us mothers for this purpose.

As wonderful as this message came to me, I must again acknowledge that my own mother has likely been impacted even more by this powerful talk.  It has struck me and instilled in me a great respect for anyone who will or is carrying the title of mother.  I use the word 'carrying' very specifically because the job of motherhood never ends.  It is a calling that will continue through the eternities and will form and shape more of God's children into righteous posterity than any other calling aside from the Savior of the World.  

Building Bricks Without Straw

Hello Everyone!

A quick update from Ballston Spa: Snow has arrived (shortly).

We got hit by tiny snow flurry yesterday during Gospel Principles, it only lasted 10 minutes, and none of it stuck, but it's only been 6 months since the snow officially stopped.  Winter's knocking at our door again and I'm breaking out the thermals!

This week I wish to share a unique insight that I learned from a talk given by Vaughn J. Featherstone in September of 1986 to students at BYU in Provo.  The talk, with name identical to the title of this post, is centered on a short passage of scripture from the book of Exodus chapter 5:

5. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

6. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

7. Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying,Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

This passage is Pharaoh's immediate response to Moses and Aaron asking to let the children of Israel go into the wilderness to worship their God.  Pharaoh took this as a sign that they had too much free time on their hands and thus in their spare time wanted to go off and worship, so he increased the burdens upon them.  

From the talk by, at the time, Elder Featherstone he introduces the process by which ancient peoples created bricks with the following passage:

"As all of you know, straw is put into bricks and other kinds of mortar or similar materials to cause an adhesiveness to take place. In Moses’ day straw was essential in making bricks that would not crumble and crack when a little bit of pressure was applied."

The children of Israel would be left to gather what stubble and scraps that they could to build bricks, while being required to create the same amount of bricks; an arduous task to be certain.

In his talk, Elder Featherstone asks BYU Students, and by implication all of us, if we are trying to make bricks without straw.  Are we trying to sustain or gain a testimony or conversion to this gospel by using spiritual scraps, or are we using the wonderful resources we have been given to adequately strengthen ourselves and those around us?

We live in a day when great resources are available to those seeking to learn of Christ and of how we can build a great relationship with our God.  We are given scripture, ancient and modern, to aid us in learning of the plan, purposes, and commandments of God.  We are given support by family, friends, and church members alike to lend us straw when we lack, and we also can help those around us in like manner by lending those who use spiritual stubble some straw to strengthen them in times of need.  

I hope that you all have a great week, and continually build your bricks with straw and not stubble.  Then, when pressure is applied, you will withstand and not crumble under the pressure of trial and affliction. 

Love, Elder Gailey

Are You Here

Hello Everyone!

This week, I'm a little pressed for time, but wish to type out a quick post based upon a picture I took while I was walking around Amsterdam, NY.  While I was on exchange there we took a detour down a little side street, as we were walking down the hill I noticed the billboard in the picture.  Once I saw that billboard, I knew I needed a picture of it.  

What a great question though, "Are you here?"

Are you where you need to be, doing what you need to be doing?  Are you really there, or are you merely in a physical location?  Something I've learned from my Mom is the difference between hearing and listening.  It's easy to hear what someone's saying, but it's a different thing to listen.  Listening is active, it requires work.  So ponder to yourself if you are where you need to be, and if so, if you're really there.  I've learned for myself that it's important to be where you are.  I can't be fantasizing about the future or the past while I'm out on my mission, it merely distracts from the task at hand.  It's a tough lesson that I feel everyone needs to learn at one time or another.  Be where you are, and work with what you have, because from there you can build greater.  

I hope you all have a great week, and enjoy the picture!

Love, Elder Gailey