Something I Believe is True

I truly believe that God is a glorified being who is only good and that human beings are spiritual beings without race, class, political persuasion, or status. This world gives us the opportunity to live in certain countries, be a part of certain ancestry, believe certain things, have certain knowledge, and choose this or that (kind or mean, judge or accept, love or hate, tolerate or discriminate, many more things).

The real test is to rise above the world to see us all together (without the things the world says we are), to see that we're all brothers and sisters, and to love one another.

If this world got stripped down to only people we'd see that the feeling in our heart is the only thing that matters. If the heart is bad then it's easy to forsake, but if the heart is good then it's equally easy to embrace. I know it's philosophical. Plainly said: Rise above the world to see the real person, and develop good things in the heart.

I Love Songs and Music

Music is awesome!
I love the words to songs.  I love compositions, too, even though sometimes they eventually go out of style.  One of my favorite genres of music is choral. I was in choirs for many years and dreamed of one day singing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Now that I no longer sing I look forward to one day singing in the Heavenly Choir. I digress, back to music:

To me, some songs are like prayers. I don't care when the words were written because truth is truth even if it was written a hundred years ago. The music to some older songs may be dated but their words are just as true now as the day they were written.

Words to songs never go out of style
A popular song in the 80's written by an LDS person was sung at many sacrament meetings that were also called "Missionary Farewells". The song called "How Great Shall Be Your Joy" is written by Janice Kapp Perry. There are two parts to this song that are sung separately then they are sung together in harmony then they are followed by some other stuff.

The first part is:

And if it so be that ye should labor all your days

And bring but one soul unto me, how great shall

Be you joy with him in the kingdom of my father.

How great shall be your joy.

The second part is:

My sheep hear my voice and they know me.

And I know them and they follow me.

Those two parts are sung together followed by these words:

After Jesus had risen he came to the sea,

Asking three times of Peter, "Lovest thou me?"

"Yea Lord" he answered, "Thou knowest I love thee",

Then Jesus commanded him "Feed my sheep"

Then the two parts are sung again in another key and solidify my belief in their words.

Some songs generate feelings
The second verse of a certain hymn comes to my mind and causes gratitude and love to swell in my heart. The words are:

I marvel that He would descend from his throne divine

To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine.

That He would extend His great love unto such as I

Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

Oh, it is wonderful that He would care for me enough to die for me.

Oh it is wonderful, wonderful to me.

Some words solidify my beliefs
I love these words, written for EFY (Especially For Youth) in the early 90's, because they are just as relevant today:

Now, in this day of darkness, can we see / Evil and suffering ripe on every hand. / Wounded by lies, by loneliness, and fear / With joy we lift our hearts to feel thee near. / Walk with us through the wilderness of life, / Savior, thy life alone can mark the path, / Hush the confusion, still the storm within. / Help us at last the victory to win. / Help us

at last to see the light he gives. / Savior, thy words are written on our hearts, / Gladly we seek the beauty of thy way. / Grieving with those who stumble, lose their way / When wandering the blinding mists of night. / Unlock our understanding as we seek / To lift the soul who stumbles, find the one / Who cries to thee. Oh let our lights burn fair / As we go forth to lift, to bless, to share.

How true today, 21 years later, are those words? How much those words strengthen me and remind me how precious I am and how precious every person is to God. The scriptures say, "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God." I believe it. I feel in my heart that he loves me and believe that he loves and has loved every person who has ever walked on this earth.

Some things help me when I think of them
I think of Jesus as my coach. I imagine this scenario: I'm looking in his direction but darting my head to look at things happening on either side of him. He takes my face in his hands, and causes me to look at him. He says, "Focus." Then he coaches me. He gestures imaginary walls on either side of him and me, then says "Just look at me. We got this. You can do it. I believe in you."

The 23rd Psalm reminds me of this scenario:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the

Path of righteousness for his namesake.

Then it get's personal. When I face something hard it's just him and me:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.

Thou annointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.

In happy times it's not so personal. I can stand on my own two feet:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

My thoughts
I love God and Jesus Christ with all my heart. They have helped, comforted, and sustained me in good times and in bad; I truly believe they will do it all my life. They are loving beings that I want to become like, and I believe that I will someday. The words to songs solidify how I feel. I'm glad that good things exist to help me.

Getting Real and Saying It Like It Is

I know I can be honest
I imagine sitting on my couch with my friend and honestly sharing from my heart. I know I can be honest because I'm just saying what *I* think. People are told not to talk about certain things because the other person might not believe the same. I think anything can be discussed as long as I speak for myself. I love people and never want to hurt them. I believe in freedom and know that everyone has beliefs. I don't say things to convince anyone to think like me but to just express myself.

I love being Christian
With Easter being this weekend I reflect on why I'm Christian not Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Atheist, New Age or something else. I'm Christian because I believe that only through Jesus Christ can I have eternal life (my greatest desire). I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because I believe that it is the only church that has the authority to give me the ordinances I need to have eternal life.

Easter is my favorite holiday
I thank Jesus Christ (in words that don't adequately express my feelings) for suffering, for atoning, for dying on the cross, and for rising from the tomb on the third day...all for me. I have no friend (except Jesus Christ) who would do those things for me and who would provide a way for me to have eternal life.

Jesus Christ wants me to have eternal life
He suffered not only for my sins but also so that he could perfectly empathize and comfort me when I suffer. He will make up the difference for me when I face God at the final judgement. God The Father said, "No unclean thing can enter heaven". There's no way that I could ever enter heaven because I'm an imperfect human and unclean (fallen). But Jesus Christ said that if I believed in him (a perfect human and a God), (tried my best to) keep the commandments, got the ordinances I needed, and remained faithful to the end I'd get eternal life. He also said that if I did those things he'd make up the difference between me and God The Father and be my advocate (plead to God on my behalf).

I love Jesus Christ's words
He said: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." (Isaiah 1:18-20).

I'm a fallen human being-like scarlet, red like crimson and he's a perfect God-pure, as white as the snow, like wool. On one hand, if I believe in Him, want it, keep the commandments, get the ordinances I need, and remain faithful to the end I'll have eternal life. On the other hand if I don't believe in Him, rebel and don't care I won't have eternal life. Either way, the choice is mine.

Christianity will get me my goal
Jesus Christ's actions at Gethsemane, at Calvary, and at the tomb showed me that He wants me to have eternal life. I'm grateful for such a gift and I love Him. He's my savior and has redeemed me from the effects of the fall.

The Lord Blesses Me With More Than What I Ask

I truly believe that The Lord wanted to bless me five years ago, before I got sick, but I couldn't receive it so he gave me a trial to make me stronger. How could I feel His love when I couldn't say, "I love you" to myself? His perfect love would have crushed me because I couldn't bear it. I felt that others deserved his love, but in my heart I didn't feel that I myself was worthy to receive anything good. It is so sad to hear how badly I thought and felt, but it's true. I've learned so many things in the last five years! Even in my trial, He blesses me as much as He can.

Before getting sick, I had plans for myself. Unfortunately, my heart didn't truly believe that some of the things I planned would actually come true. I wished and hoped for them to come true, but in all honesty, my heart didn't believe that some things would ever happen. 

To me, the Bible story in Mark 9 relates to this topic so well. The father wished and hoped that his son would be well, but in all honesty, he didn't truly believe it would ever happen. He hoped for any kind of help to stop his son from harming himself, but didn't ever think that his son would be completely healed and free from the things that tormented him. He said to Jesus, "Help me." The Lord knew the father's heart. The Savior knew that the father hoped but that even his hope was not complete. Jesus said, "All things are possible to him that believeth." I love the thing the father said in reply. He said, "Lord I believe; help thou mine unbelief." The Savior didn't condemn him, He didn't chastise him and say, "I won't help you until you believe," No! Instead, He completely healed his son. Jesus Christ blessed the father...and more than the father hoped.

The Lord is good. I believe that he wants to bless me. I truly believe Him - in my heart. I trust Him completely, and I couldn't say that five years ago. He doesn't want me to have trials, or hard times, but it's through struggles that I learn. He doesn't teach me when I'm happy - he rejoices with me! He teaches me when I'm sad. If my trial isn't permanent and if I don't learn, then I get to experience the same trial again. I love that He blesses me as much as He can.

Doing What You Love

It won't be hard for a person to be a millionaire if they don't let their fear stop them, and if they do what they love without being concerned with money. Money is a by-product that is freely given when people are touched by something a person does because they love it. Those who seek after money will never have it. But, if a person does what they love, they will have money - they need to believe that's true.

Believe

I'm reading and doing the exercises in The Artist's Way and the 'Basic Principles' say that your creativity is between you and God; most people don't look at it that way, they don't want to put themselves in the same realm as God.

We have to put ourselves into God's realm in order to think we are worthy of his help. The Brother of Jared had to think highly enough of himself in order to see the finger of the Lord. Moses had to have thought the same way too.

People think far too low of themselves. In the Psalms, David said, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" I believe that God is aware of us and that He loves us. He is always there, and He shares His presence with us. Maybe it's we who won't allow ourselves to feel His presence.

We need to think higher of ourselves and believe that we deserve to have good things in our lives. We need to not just hope, but believe.

Be a Good Person

Becoming corrupt is a choice between good and evil. Whatever a person chooses is a decision. Every decision has either rewards or consequences and some people's decisions affect me. I also choose to be a good or evil person. No matter what people do to me they can't dictate my heart and in my heart I choose to be good.

Everyone has Beliefs

If you believe something, it's impossible not to make a judgement.

However, Judgement and Judging are two different things. Judgement can be either positive or negative but Judging is only negative. When we make Good Judgements we are our higher self, we take the high road and are doing what's right. Making Good Judgements include being patient, kind, loving, etc. Judging includes thinking you're better than someone or you're more superior, etc.

It's okay to have an opinion about something but it's not okay to think negatively about someone. If you say "I don't believe in homosexuality" that's okay because you have a right to your oppinion but some might say "you're a homophobe" which isn't necessarily true. Just because you said you don't like homosexuality doesn't mean you don't like homosexual people. You said you didn't like the thing you didn't say you didn't like the person. Maybe youre are loving and accepting which are great qualities to have. Don't fall into the trap or be intimidated into thinking you're judging when you're not.

In this day and age people are afraid to say what they believe because someone will say "you're this or you're that". But what they say may not be true. Maybe you do judge people, but I believe we can always be our higher selves and learn to love people. Don't be afraid of what people say. Know where you stand and be willing to defend it. Most people don't know why they have the beliefs they do which can make them judgemental. It's okay to ask "do I believe that?" because when you know what you believe you can defend it. You're not questioning whether or not it's true, you're questioning whether or not you believe it. Sometimes the answer is Yes!

When someone says "you're this or that" they're judging. Maybe they should pull the beam out of their eye instead of trying to pull the mote out of yours. Maybe they should focus on their own faults and leave yours alone.

I'm not always my higher self and when I judge people I'm usually wrong. I'm trying to be loving and kind and that's all we can do is 'try' because we aren't perfect and can't 'be' all the time. People just want to be loved and accepted no matter what they do. We have a choice, either we can make good judgments and inspire people to be their higher selves, or we can judge which doesn't inspire anyone. Judging drags you down, it makes you untrusting and critical. Having Good Judgement is freeing. It allows you to be 'good' and you are good!