Repent and Be Happy!

There is a statement about Repentance in Preach My Gospel that I really like. It says, " It (repentance) is a positive experience that brings joy and peace" (PMG Pg 8). When I first read this I didn't really understand. Repentance isn't always easy, and I sure don't feel peace and joy when I have done something wrong. Why is it that when we try to become a better person, more of what God wants us to be, we have more peace?

The only way that I can think of that explains it this: when you have done something wrong that you don't want someone to figure out. You know it is wrong and you worry what will happen. When we have sinned, we know that it was wrong, and when we are punished for it, we know it won't be pleasant. But when Heavenly Father helps us to feel that he knows what we did, and he still has forgiven us because we repented, it brings the same kind of peace as when someone on earth did the same, but to a greater degree. We then know that he is pleased with us, and we can be happy with who we are. I know that the closer we are to God, the happier we will be, and repentance is what brings us closer to Him!

Be of Good Cheer

Being on a mission in Montana means the you are going to be cold. This past month to month and a half temperatures have been low (somewhere between -30 and 10 degrees). The snowstorms have come one right after another. It sometimes seemed like winter will never end. The past week has been very interesting. Early in the week things got to be pretty warm, and for the first time in a long time, I thought the winter might actually end sometime. Then yesterday it got really warm (32 degrees) and that got us really excited. After that first day of warmth it got much colder that night, and this morning we got another 6 inches of snow.

Sometimes life is the same way. We are burdened with something that may seem like it will be there forever. Then when we catch a glimpse of what things could be, and it goes away it is easy to get discouraged. The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ however tells us to "be of good cheer!" Despite how cold things are now, spring will come and the warmth will be back. No matter how badly off we feel we are, if we keep our focus on Christ, things will get better!

Happiness - The John Tanner Story

Where does happiness come from? We can get many different answers from different sources. The world tells us that when we act on our immediate desires we gain happiness. This gives us pleasure, which can be a temporary substitute for lasting happiness. True happiness comes from following the plan that God has created for us. Who would know better than our Father what will make us happy?

The other day I watched a video about a man named John Tanner. He was a self-made wealthy man who was converted to the LDS faith in the early years of the church. The missionaries taught him, and he had a desire to be baptized. He couldn't however, because of a diseased leg that crippled him. The missionaries asked him if he had the faith to be healed. He did and the Lord healed him. He was baptized that evening.

Throughout the rest of his life he was called upon to help the church with its financial struggles. He willingly did so and over the course of his life gave 50,000 dollars to the church (we did the math and it came out to be around 2 million dollars in our money today). This cost him and his family a great deal. They had become poor and actually had to beg for food to survive. At the end of the film, he was called on a mission. Before he left he forgave the church all the debt they owed him. He then left his family to serve the Lord.

My feelings during this movie centered mostly on the great sacrifice of this man. To give all your money, and then watch your children go hungry would be a huge trial. I wondered at the great devotion and faith of this man. Then a thought hit me. Brother Tanner must have been happier during this trial of his life than at any time before. He knew the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and he lived it! He accepted the Lords will for him, and did all he could to serve.

This emphasized the point that money does not bring happiness, living the gospel brings happiness. In 2 Nephi 2:27 it says, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." The happiness from liberty and eternal life doesn't have to be just a future blessing. As we are obedient to the commandments now, we receive the blessings now.

The choices we make determine our happiness. Let us all choose to follow the Lord, choose to feel of his love, and choose to be happy at all times and in all places. As we do so, we will more fully become the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Fear Not, But Hope

Sometimes in life it is easy to look at the things that are wrong, and use it as evidence that things will continue to go wrong. When this happens it becomes easy to fear the future, or the unknown. There are a lot of things that you can fear when you are on a mission. Knocking on doors and talking to people you have never met before about something that they would rather not talk about is a little scary. In studies this morning this was on my mind, and for a while I couldn't figure out how to overcome this obstacle of fear.

Elder Huntsman and I were discussing this and we were finally able to figure it out. Instead of thinking about the things that might go wrong, you can think of the things that might go right. We are taught that Faith is to "hope for things which are not seen, which are true" (Alma 32: 21). We can hope for the best and put our faith in Jesus Christ, and he will take care of us. I know this is true.