Being a More Christian Christian

If you have not already done so, please step outside and look at the last of the tiny purple asters flowering. Then go and observe the beauties of the flowering crape myrtle. How glorious they are as they line our streets in brilliant colors of pink and fuchsia. Aren't these great gifts for God?
I always find it particularly challenging to condense any of the general conference talks, which is what I am going to attempt to do again today. The lesson Sister Metten gave was a talk given by Elder Hales in Oct. 2012.
If we profess to be Christians, it then stands to reason we should know what it means to be a Christian. Yes, we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, trying to keep his commandments. One of the steps we take is to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, given to us by those who hold His priesthood. We then strive to become more like Christ, which means we need to study and learn what Christ did and how he did it. Contrary to some who do not know about our beliefs, we do believe "Through the scriptures and the witness of Joseph Smith, we know that God, our Heavenly Father, has a glorified and perfected body of flesh and bone. Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son in the flesh. The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit whose work is to testify of the Father and the Son. The Godhead is three separate and distinct beings, unified in purpose."
In Mosiah 5:8 it states that we believe in the Savior and that we should be obedient until the end of our days.  The teachings of Jesus Christ are the foundation of our faith and lives. As we pattern our lives after the Savior, we become more like his His disciples in that we leave the things of the world and follow Him, having a change of heart that leads us on the path to Christ. This change is our true conversion.
As a "convert" to the Savior, we need to take an inventory of our behavior. Do we try? If we believe in God and work to keep the commandments, the Spirit will guide us in doing good. Mosiah 5:2,3 are a couple of my favorite scriptures used today. "1 And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had thus spoken to his people, he sent among them, desiring to know of his people if they ^abelieved the words which he had spoken unto them.

 2 And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty ^achange in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do ^bevil, but to do good continually."  Think  how your life would change if you had no more desire to do evil/sin/ lose your temper/ be offended/ or succumb to any other negative temptations. I can imagine the weight of the sins that would be lifted off our shoulders and how freeing it would be. What a worthy goal for ourselves!!

When we are converted to the Lord, we begin to  recognize his will and love in all things. If we are truly converted, we join the church for its teachings and for no other reason, not the programs or a missionary or anything other than the Savior.

In Alma 23:6 we learn of others and how they achieved this desirous goal: " And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working ^amiracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were ^bconverted unto the Lord, ^cnever did fall away." We can lay down our "weapons" of worldly ways and follow the Savior. He will bless us with talents and gifts which will enable us to serve Him by serving others.  When we "feed His sheep" we can do it by "raising a special needs child, working in the temple, doing missionary work, loving the prodigal, serving an ailing companion, enduring misunderstandings or suffering affliction."

When we do these things, we are 'going where He wants us to go.'

In the lesson, there is a list of things we should consider if we profess to follow Christ. The Savior knows where we are and how we are doing and is constantly cheering for us to succeed. He knows what we can do and loves us unconditionally. Why else would He give his life for us?

your striving bloggess

Janice