As a man, life ever points out a way to curb difficulty through a route more simple or less laden with tasks that the natural man finds unappealing. We also know that anything the natural man conceives of his own wisdom, is not wisdom at all, but foolishness. If there is anything now that I have come more to term with than I previously used to, it is another thing we know through revealed writ... to sum it up in a few words, it is the Lord's way to do all things according to the will of the Father. The scriptures teach us that the mission and glory of the Lord to the Father is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man. A fine tuned, very simply said, but far harder enacted plan to get back home. What can make the plan difficult to execute sometimes is the very thing that erupted into a war in the pre-existence with far reaching implications.
One individual put forth a plan, allowing us to choose ultimately what we all would want to do both then, and after we left that state of existence and became mortal. That key to choose in our primary estate would carry over to our mortal estate and we would also have to chose what we wanted to do in our mortal estate. The part I feel which not only made this the preferable plan, but more sensible plan, is when we choose to do what we wish to do we can experience greater joy when the correct choice is made, and even in making wrong decisions, it made the ideal decisions more brilliant in righteousness.
Another individual put forth a plan, which seemed easier and ideal, only to one third of the hosts of heaven, in which all would experience a fragmented mortality in flesh, yet bound to a law contrary to the very state of which should be the executor of it. Lucifer foolishly thought that by setting out a plan of forced... socialistic slavery, he would win favor of our Father in heaven. It appears he was blinded so much for the power and glory of the Father, that he completely missed the lesson in which an individual mission focused on himself was contrary to the very being of his existence.
The plan of the first, was in tune with the ideal of the Father. The Fathers plan would be a plan based not only upon agency, although this was a huge factor. What it also needed to have, was the element of significance, a family ideal where all were important and vocally declared from the beginning, and that this family path came by desire of the individual to play part in the family matter of the fabric of our very eternal existence. There needed to be, in part (I feel) a similar notion here on earth, as there was in Heaven. A working mechanism of which when we enter into earth, we enter an institution "Ordained of God." (See The Family: A Proclamation To The World- found at the bottom of the blog page)
There is so much more to ponder concerning this, but I feel you may understand what I am beginning to imply. We all know that we went with the plan the Father chose, that being the first plan, "I will send the first", and the first was the plan of a Savior provided for us. We are here now, trying to make choices that keep us aligned with the choices that will get us back to live in the presence of the Father, with our families as sealed together by the keys of the Priesthood restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith by the hands of Elijah.
Without a shadow of a doubt, we all have sinned and may yet still continue to do so, as imperfect mortal beings are prone to, yet we have this Gospel and the process of Repentance to aid us along the way to becoming the best we can be.
We have heard it a lot in the past few years from our dear Prophet Thomas S. Monson the need to rescue and bring back the lost sheep. Many of you wonderful brethren here in the Lubbock Texas Stake heard that call and have been selflessly giving your all to the cause endorsed by the Lord, to remind many of the truth of the Gospel and to come back. I am just so very grateful brethren, to be one of those many whom you all have helped along this very way. But, even though many are brought back, we need to continually bolster the strength of the body of the Priesthood and keep working at it.
Our Stake Presidency has been led by a Stake President who was given a vision on just how this all is to happen. We have already seen much of the fruit of this vision already come to pass, and it is exciting! We do not, however, need to be reminded that there is still work to do in this great and noble cause, and the special spirit being lent to us now is allowing us to reach people who previously have said no to our invitations to meet with the Missionaries. This special spirit is also moving upon the hearts of many of the inactive who have previously discounted continual invitations to come back, and now we are beginning to see them come back, and MANY are coming back without invitations. I know of one Sister who just recently started to attend church here a few weeks ago, who has been inactive for over ten years and was not a member we even knew lived in our area.
The miracles are happening!
With all this blaze of the Spirit around, there are so many catching the vision and being faithful in praying concerning its truth and then acting upon the direction they are given through the Spirit. It is this very cause brethren, why I have specially changed the introduction of the blog sub-title to many good quotes from many great General Authorities of both past and present. I will include them here in this blog now, but will display them on the blog title through the end of this year to continually remind us of our duty. I happily look forward to the great counsel we will receive this weekend at Stake Conference!!!
"Brethren, the world is in need of your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save." (Thomas S. Monson)
"We can, with the
Lord’s help, reach out and rescue those for whom we have
responsibility." (Thomas S. Monson, “Bring Him Home,” Ensign, Nov 2003, 56)
“We
encourage Church members to forgive those who may have wronged them.
To those who have ceased activity and to those who have become
critical, we say, ‘Come back. Come back and feast at the table of the
Lord, and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with
the saints.'" (James E. Faust, “A Priceless Heritage,”
Ensign, Jul 2002, 2–6)
"Reactivation
is one of the major keys to the success of all other endeavors in the
Church. From our studies we know that the percentage of active
Melchizedek Priesthood holders in a ward is the best single predictor
of that ward’s success. Home teaching is the vehicle that activates
people. No new program or organization is to be invented to replace it."
(A. Theodore Tuttle, “Strengthening the Less Active,” Ensign, Oct 1980, 10)
"In
this vast throng are priesthood power and the capacity to reach out
and share the glorious gospel with others. As has been mentioned, we
have the hands to lift others from complacency and inactivity. We have
the hearts to serve faithfully in our priesthood callings and thereby
inspire others to walk on higher ground and to avoid the swamps of sin
which threaten to engulf so many. The worth of souls is indeed great in
the sight of God. Ours is the precious privilege, armed with this
knowledge, to make a difference in the lives of others." (Thomas S.
Monson, “To Learn, to Do, to Be,” Liahona, Nov 2008, 60–62, 67–68)
"Your
attention to this alarming trend of inactivity must now become one of
our most urgent priorities. The worth of all souls is great in the
sight of God, whether they be nonmembers, inactive members, or active
members." (David B. Haight, “Become a Star Thrower,” Ensign, Nov 1983, 39)
"Life’s
flight pattern can be changed. The instruments we use in saving souls
are love and sharing our testimonies of the divine mission of our
Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Thousands of our lost brethren, both
men and boys, can be led to a safe landing if we will keep the
commitments that we have made tonight. The power of the priesthood that
is within each one of us is a greater power than any radar, radio, or
any other communication system. Nothing is more important to the Lord
than saving souls." ( M. Russell Ballard, “You Can Be the
Voice,” Ensign, May 1980, 44)
I leave you this message brethren, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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Lubbock Texas Announcements:
Saturday October 30th @ 4pm : Priesthood Leadership Meeting
Saturday October 30th @ 7pm : Adult Session
Sunday October 31st @ 10:00 Stake Conference
Tuesday November 2nd @ 6:30 Relief Society
Wednesday November 3rd @ 7:00 Young women in excellence recognition at Stake Center
Friday November 5th @ 8:30am Breakfast at Kettle
Sunday November 7th Daylight saving ends. Clocks back by one hour.
Sunday November 7th @ 8:30am Branch Welfare
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Plainview Branch Elders & High Priest Lessons By Date:
10-31-10 : Stake Conference
11-7-10 : "To The Home Teachers Of The Church" By President Ezra Taft Benson - April 1987 -
11-14-10 : Chapter 21 Gospel Principles Manual "The Gift Of The Holy Ghost"
11-21-10 : Chapter 22 Gospel Principles Manual "The Gifts Of The Spirit"
11-28-10 : "That Our Children Might See The Face Of Our Savior" - By Cheryl C. Lant - April 2010
12-5-10 : "Only An Elder" - by Elder Bruce R. McConkie in 1974
12-12-10 : Chapter 23 Gospel Principles Manual "The Sacrament"
12-19-10 : Chapter 24 Gospel Principles Manual "The Sabbath Day"
12-26-10 : To Be Announced
