Keeping Sabbath Holy

Every Sunday millions of people around the world go to church to keep the Sabbath day holy. Each person has their own beliefs and traditions. When I was a kid we had a donut place on the way to church and we would get a dozen and eat them in the car on the way to church.
Now I have a better understanding for what it means to keep the Sabbath day holy. I had great missionaries and they explained to me a lot of different things. The biggest lesson I had to relearn was keeping the Lords day Holy. I had not been to church in years, I would go to the store, restaurants, and do other things that did not bring me or my family closer to God. 
Sundays are for worship. Praising the Lord and doing things that would make Him happy with us. Making other people have to work on this day isn’t really fair to them. Think about it for a minute. When you have a job do you want to work on Sunday? Some people have no choice, in order to keep their job they have to work when they are scheduled. Every time you decide to go to a store or out to eat on a Sunday you take away someone else's right to follow their God.
Many religions ask that their people not do certain things on Sunday. But they don’t really have a rule about it or think it’s wrong. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes whole heartedly that you should keep away from some activities on the Sabbath day. They teach their members to avoid going to stores, restaurants, and other places on Sunday as by not going you may be giving the person that works there time to pray.
I know that some Sundays I am very tempted to do things I know would not please the Lord, when this happens I start thinking, what would it hurt? It would hurt our Father in Heaven very much for us to forget him for even a moment. Do you really need to do things on Sunday? Yes there are emergencies and going to the hospital at those times is not blocked. If every family stayed home instead of doing all the errands on Sunday stores would have to close their doors on Sunday no business no reason to be open and then everyone who chose to would be able to keep that day Holy and do things that would be pleasing to the Lord.
Read the scriptures, listen to uplifting music, spend time with family and friends, help your kids learn what the right path is, have family prayers. There are thousands of things you could do on Sunday to keep it Holy… think before you act on Sunday’s or any day of the week and ask if what you are about to do would hurt God or please God.

I have missed this

I have not posted in a while not having internet caused a big gap. that and I am busier than ever. I now have my license, and I have my own business and I am helping out a new friend in the ward by cleaning her house. I am always on the go now and I am loving every minute of it! I of course have tried to keep up with my reading, and have read a lot about the Church and it's different Presidents. I grow stronger in my faith daily. I know I made the right decision when I decided to get baptized.   I am so much stronger with the Lord at my side then I ever was with out Him. He has blessed me in so many different ways that I could never list them all as it would take hours and hours.

I am learning how to schedule  my time better and I am growing so fast that some days I don't recognize my self. I miss having my Sister Missionaries, but elders are ok..... I guess.

As we just had Thanksgiving I want to say that I am thankful of this church. I am proud to say that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am proud and Thankful for the restored gospel and all it has done to change my life.

READING

I have been reading up on Joseph Smith this week. I want to get a better idea on the different prophets of the church. I love history and want to learn as much as I can about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Being a new member and hearing people quote from different Prophets I get lost. I don’t know a thing about any of them. Never heard them speak haven’t as of yet read anything they spoke about.

What I am finding interesting is that from the beginning of this Church Joseph Smith always talked about God and Jesus, how then do people believe that we are not Christian? Don’t all Christian’s believe the same principles? I know that all of the churches I have ever been to preached about God and Jesus. That is what sets them apart from Jewish, Islam, Buddhism, and churches teaching along that set of beliefs.

Ok from what I know if a church believes in God the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Ghost they are called Christian. Those that leave out one or the other are different and not considered Christian. Am I wrong to have this belief?

I know I don’t know anything compared to some in this church but I do know that when I walked toward this path with an open heart and mind I knew it had to be true. I am a Christian and would not have taken this path if I thought for one minute that it was not a Christian Church as I do believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. I believe them to be three separate beings. And I believe that Jesus lived and died on the cross for our sins. I know that through Him all sin is washed away.

Something else that I have started to wonder about, is all these churches that spend so much time trying to make sure there members do not become Mormon. How is it Christian like, to preach on Sunday about how bad another church is?   Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” I know that my life is not perfect, but it seems wrong to me that there are whole religions built up on anti-Mormonism. I know that some people will wonder why I decided on the church I did. And question me on if I did the right thing. I know that I did the right thing for me, but it may or may not be your road. The choice and agency is always yours, why step on my toes for making choices with my own agency? I am trying to walk my path; like that poem by someone never could remember names. “But I, I took the path less traveled.” (Will change if someone knows who wrote that)   I may be on a path that a lot of people would not walk. But I walk the path I feel it is right and judge no one for their path even when it differs from mine.

Waiting on the road to Damascus

My favorite speech at the April general conference was Waiting on the road to Damascus. Sunday May 22 I received my copy of the 181st general conference edition of the Ensign. On Monday morning I was talking to my best friend Becky on the phone and decided to share the speech with her as she missed it during the conference. I unfortunately did not take my sinus medicine before starting. As I coughed and sniffled my way through the speech, which was not easy, I never once thought of stopping.

I got up and grabbed something to drink and kept reading. I wanted to share a message that spoke so clearly to me. Something was trying to stop me, make me give up and just let her go to the web page and ether listen to the speech or read it herself. I wanted her to know how much it meant to me.

I know some people get stuck waiting on that road. Even for small moments in time. We sit and wait at the sad times, the lonely times asking God to give us a sign that he is really there when he is there and giving us the extra boost that we are too busy to understand.

“The truth is, those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although it most often comes in the form of a puzzle- one piece at a time.” President Uchtdorf

This speech spoke to me because sometimes I find myself looking for the whole picture when I am missing some of the pieces and felling like I have lost those pieces forever. I find myself waiting for God to help when I should know that without His help I would never have had the strength to get as far down the road without Him. While reading the speech to Becky I realized that thorough all the hard times in the past couple of years I was on my own road to Damascus. I was waiting for God to tell me what I needed to do without listening for the answer.

I know that God loves me. I know that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. Some days I wonder why. I don’t feel like I am good enough. Then I remember the love I feel from my heavenly Father when I do stop to notice, and I no longer wonder.

 I know I am stronger because of the love that both God, and Jesus, have for me. I know that I am still on the road to Damascus but I know that God is with me and I am moving forward, I am no longer waiting for God’s love I know I have it with me. If you are waiting on your road to Damascus then I hope you will pray and find the love God has for you and, that you will listen to that still quite voice that will lead you if you take the time.

Becky did a post about this also you fan find it here

CHOICE

No one ever said that life would be easy. I have had to make a lot of very hard decisions lately. I have felt the doubts that I did the right thing. Praying has helped me to stay sane and at peace. Knowing God is with me has lifted my spirit and helped me to deal with things. Every day we have to make choices. Some of them are the right thing and we feel at peace with them. Others are not so good and we feel no peace with them. I know I have done what was right in the choices I have made. Others tell me I should have made a different choice. For me there was no other choice. Some people think I am a bad person for the choices I have made, but I have friends that let me have their support to know I am not a bad person.

Knowing I have a church that loves me has helped. There are churches that I have been to before that I know would not have helped me through the time I have had for the last couple of years.

Almost 5 years ago I made a choice that was wrong, but I can’t wish it away as I got a lot out of it. Even through the hard times that followed I know that I would not go back to change everything…. Though there are parts I wish I could change.

I am so thankful for the friends I have made and the choices I have made to get my life back to normal. I know that through the next little while I will be fragile as glass but I will not brake. I have too much to live for and to look forward to.

Thank you Becky and all four of my missionary’s for all that you have done for me, and the support you have given to me.

Whatever happens in your life remember you have the agency to change some of it. Other parts just have to happen from others agency, know that God is with you and things are easier to get though.

Picky Eater

When I was growing up we had to eat what we put on our plates, and my mom was not making special meals for everyone so you ate what everyone else was eating with a few exceptions. The other night my neighbor brought me over some food he called it guacamole, although it was not how I had ever had it before. As I was picking my way around large chunks of tomatoes which I don’t like, I started thinking about some peoples search for a church. They become picky eaters all over again. They want a big choir, or they want the preacher to only speak about certain things. Some will go as far as say that if people are dressed a certain way they won’t go to that church. 

One of the things I like about Mormon service is any church you go to you will hear the same topics. The same principles, same books, the same beliefs and the same information just maybe taught a different way, as teaching styles will always differ.

I am always reminded of this as my best friend is a Mormon also and goes to Church in a different state. We can come together on Sunday night and compare notes and be at almost the same spot.

I remember going to different churches as I was growing up. I started out catholic, had my first communion, and I have to still say that the wafers were the worst idea the Catholic Church ever had (eeewww). We then started going to four square (Christian) churches, as my mom wanted something different. 

In our wanderings with four square churches we met some wonderful people, whose ideals were always different. In some you had to dress up to go to church; in other cases we were welcome in every day cloths. Then there were the preachers, some were always saying the same message to afraid of making anyone mad and getting fired. Others didn’t care what anyone thought and would preach what they felt they needed to, and would get fired which meant having to move. Then you would find out that in all of these cases the preachers were getting big pay checks, cars, houses, and in some cases they wouldn’t even have to pay for electric, cable or anything else. Only thing they really had to deal with was food. 

The Mormon Church is the first one I have seen where no one is getting paid to do what they do. And although they call on different people to do things it is always a choice you make if you are going to help things along. 

Every day I see different ways that becoming a Mormon has changed how I look at things. If you are reading this and you are not a Mormon already I challenge you to go to www.mormon.org and ether speak with a Missionary on line or have them come to your house. I know that if you open your heart and your mind, you just might find yourself viewing things differently. Everyone is a picky eater, just make sure your still getting what you need out of things.