What promises come from doing as King Benjamin instructed? (See the last verse.)
“. . . If ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.”
One thing that comes to mind here as well is the feeling of “No Regrets!” That was something I thought of a lot when I was on my mission – I didn’t want to have any regrets: wish I would have talked to that person, wish I would have been more obedient, wish I wouldn’t have done that, etc.
As I humble myself before God and put my trust in Him, I will have No Regrets. I’ll always rejoice (have true happiness); I’ll be filled with the love of God – this means I will be slow to anger, I won’t compare myself to others, I’ll treat others the way God would treat them, I’ll judge righteous judgment.
To grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true… to me this comes by default as you are doing the other things. By repenting, calling on God daily and striving to become more like Him, you’ll WANT to grow in the knowledge of just and true principles.
If you received these promises, what would change in your life?
I feel the promises are there – it’s just a matter of what I decide to do with them.
I feel that being part of this program and working to overcome my addictions and character weaknesses is one thing I’m doing to show God that I want to receive these promises.
I feel that the steps I’m taking in recovery are helping me realize these promises: as I live the steps of the Atonement, I am always rejoicing, I’m filled with a love of God, which encourages me to treat others better, to control my temper and to seek His support in all things (I’m not perfect at this by any means, but I’m feeling what it feels like from time to time); I really feel I’m growing in a knowledge of him that created me – this program is teaching me How to live the Atonement of Jesus Christ every day of my life. Again, I’m not perfect at this, but I’m getting a real taste of true practice of what I’ve been taught for so many years.
I’m grateful for this process in my life to come to a more thorough knowledge of the most important principle there is in this life – Loving God and doing His Will!
Other Thoughts From Today’s Activities
Today was a fun-filled day for the most part.
We went to “Huck Finn Day” in Spanish Fork, caught a couple small trout, and had a pretty good time there.
After that we came home, dressed down, and went to Seven Peaks for a family activity (I’ll talk more about that in a bit).
We stayed at Seven Peaks for about 2 and a half hours and fried ourselves pretty good.
After Seven Peaks we came home, rested a bit, and then went to our HOA party/meeting for Somerset.
I’m concerned a bit with how things seem to be going with Caleb. He has a little attitude. I’m sure he’s learned this directly from me and his mom, but it’s concerning to have this attitude at such a young age. He’s sassy, it’s like pulling teeth to get him to obey most of the time, and he seems to find the negative in lots of situations.
One thing that came to me as I’m writing this – “Is this the way I am too?” Reminds me of this quote:
“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Anyway, I want to pray about this and hope to get some direct answers regarding what I can do to help the situation.
Seven Peaks was a struggle. Scantily clad women all over the place. Practicing the “chin up” strategy was really, really hard. The toughest thing is that it’s a “family activity” where the kids LOVE going there. I’m not really sure what to do in the future. I’ll need to be praying about this too.
So, that’s where I am today!
It’s interesting, I was more tempted this evening to browse around on Facebook too. I think it’s a direct effect of being at Seven Peaks. Anyway…
Hasta Luego!
Nate
I’m going to bed earlier tonight in hopes to get up earlier and work on my presentation for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
I feel I’m still struggling since having gone to Seven Peaks. I’ve talked to Becky about it and don’t plan to go back there, maybe one more time as a family is it.
Since I wrote this last post Caleb has been better. I feel his attitude is a direct reflection of my attitude. When I’m happy and play with he and Madi, things tend to go pretty well. When I don’t give him the attention he needs, he starts acting up to at least get some attention.
“If ye do this, ye shall always rejoice…and be filled with the Love of God…” This is a great promise. This is what the plan of happiness is all about.
I plan to have a great day tomorrow and look forward to working on this step more.
Hasta Luego!
Nate