Is There an Echo In Here?

"Do I have to?"

"I'll do it later."

"In a minute."

"But I was going to play."

"I don't have time right now."

"After I watch this show."

Silence. "I'll just pretend I didn't hear that."

"I know I said I would, I just forgot."

Sound familiar? Of course, right? Coming from the mouth of your kids, oh uh just kidding, wait second, turn that finger around. Someone in my ward gave a talk and shared phrases like this about children and their responses to our requests and I thought, uh that's us. Not just kids. Anyone. Is there an echo in here?

Do you echo those types of phrases when the Spirit asks something of you?

"We cannot expect the Holy Ghost to keep helping us if we ignore His promptings. Even if the answer is not what we want or if the effort He asks of us seems too great, we must be willing to do as He directs. Otherwise, we risk losing contact with the Holy Ghost and thus His comfort and direction. "

I had a wake up call when I realized my children and I shared those responses. Time to act quickly, to not ignore, to respond as instruments, and to respond cheerfully and willingly.

No more echos. I will do it. I will do it now. I will make time for this because it is important. I did hear that and I won't forget do respond. I will do it now or write it down.

I really shouldn't have made everyone turn their finger around because maybe you are really good at this. Do you have an experience when you listened to a prompting and were blessed? Or even maybe an experience that taught you because you didn't follow through?

Following a Prompting, 50%

One of our cars has been in and out of the shop for the last week or so. It took them a while to figure out how to fix the problem and thus my little boy and I have been carless off and on for the last little bit. So on Friday when we knew we'd finally have the car I told my little man that we'd be heading to one of this favorite spots, a nearby museum. This was not only a treat because of the lack of having a car for a little while but also because we haven't been there in quite a long time due to the yuckiness of the beginning of pregnancy. He was excited to say the least. He talked about it the whole night before and as soon as he woke up that morning. And so we were off on a fun outing.

Not so. For some reason before we'd even started getting ready for the day I looked for my keys and they were no where to be found. Normally I wouldn't look for them until the moment we were heading out the door and I'd grab them off the counter in the kitchen or my dresser in the bedroom (I really need to find a specific location for them) and we'd be off. But this day from the moment of waking I began the hunt for my keys.

I thought through the day before and where I might have put them and looked in my usual locations with no luck. Then it was on to the hiding spots of our little boy. I searched the couch cushions, behind the couch, in a corner in his playroom, the heating vents and so on and still no sign of my keys. Finally I resorted to calling my husband to see if he might have accidentally taken them to work but his pockets only held his keys. Then it was off to search in the car and eventually to call a sister in the ward whose house I had been to the night before and still nothing.

I was getting frustrated and my little boy was anxious to hit the road. I said a simple prayer asking for help to find my keys and still felt like I had no clue. I decided that maybe I needed to stop focusing on it so much and maybe they'd turn up. Then I had the thought that I should go get ready for the day. This thought came a few times. At this point I was wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts with smeared make-up left on my face from the day before. It was late and I determined that I really should get ready and even thought maybe I am supposed to get ready because somehow my keys made there way into my bathroom drawers. However, it was late enough that I determined I was going to bag a shower for the day and just do my hair and my make-up to feel half-way human. At this point I didn't even change my clothes, at least I felt a little more put together but still no sign of my keys. So I determined that the thought to get ready was just a thought of my own because the keys were not in my bathroom drawers like I had hoped.

So our day went on with no luck, no sign, no grand revelation of where my keys might lie. Then my husband arrived home from work and I told him that they were still no where to be found. He immediately started searching and still...nothing.

That night my parents were making a trip up our way to take me out for a belated Birthday dinner (my birthday was right in the midst of pregnancy yuck). So as my husband was searching everywhere I determined that now not only did I need to get my face and hair ready for the day but the rest of me as well. So still with no shower I headed to change my clothes and yes this includes my under garments. And you'll never guess it, sure enough there they were gleaming, shining, bright as could be at the very top of my drawer just waiting to be found. There they were shouting, "If you'd only have gotten completely ready for the day. If you'd only listened to the prompting that came and listened to it 100%."

I smiled and sheepishly said, "Honey, I found them." It was a great lesson to learn that following a prompting 50% only brings you 50% of the way to an answer. Not only did I waste a day searching for my keys but I lost out on an opportunity to follow through on something I had assured my little boy. The moment I found the keys he showed more excitement than me as he jumped up and down ready to go to the museum. My parents were almost there and the opportunity had passed. I felt bad and on Monday we spent a good hour and half at the museum.

I've learned my lesson - next time I will listen to the prompting and get ready 100%. Next time I will be ready to hear and follow a prompting 100%.

Too Good

A few weeks ago we had a great lesson in Relief Society from the manual titled, "Valiant in the Cause of Christ". The whole lesson was great but there was one line in particular that was read and discussed that stuck out to me. I'll share the line with you shortly, so read on.

Have you ever thought that there was such a thing as being too good? If you do not now, think back to the time when you were a teen...maybe you were the one who people thought was "too good" or maybe you looked at others and thought that the things they did were silly and that they were "too good". Or that they or you were a "Molly Mormon" or a "Peter Priesthood". I think that we all have been and thought in one or both of these perspectives at some point in our lives, whether now, when we were younger, or both.

"You Cannot Be Too Good."

The line that so profoundly struck me was this great declaration from the Prophet Joseph Smith, “You cannot be too good." The word 'too' means "to an excessive extent" or "more than should be". So basically he stated clearly that we can't be overly good. There comes no point when the good that we choose to do and the righteous choices we make become too much when kept in balance with the guidance of the Spirit.

Of course we can excessively engage in something that is good, for example, we could read our scriptures (a good thing) too much if it was taking us away from being good parents. (I don't think too many of us have that problem, but it is just an example :) So it is possible for us to over exert ourselves in one area causing us to neglect other important and good things.But with that said, I want to move away from the exceptions and focus more on the wonderful side of this statement - "You cannot be too good."

Commandments Can Be Made Personal

The Lord said, “And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with com­mandments not a few, and with revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me” (D&C 59:4, emphasis added).

The commandments that we have received from God are not few in number but we can dig deeper by seeking and then following the personal revelations that we each can receive. I believe that the Lord expects this of us as He said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect” (Mat. 5:48)."

President Hartman Rector, Jr. Of the First Council of the Seventy said, "[Set] personal commandments... You should make up your own special and specific list of commandments. Such commandments would depend on your own past experience and your own particular weaknesses.

I love this idea of personal commandments. There are so many things within the Church that are left without specific and exact command. There are many things that are left to our own personal choosing and thus require us to set these "personal commandments" or boundaries for ourselves.

My Personal Story of a Personal Commandment

I hesitate to bring up this personal example but I feel it will better illustrate the blessing of seeking and following these personal promptings and setting commandments or guidelines for ourselves. I also think that it perfectly illustrates Satan's desire to make us think we are being "too good".

Now the reason I hesitate to share this story is because I don't want you to think that I think I am just great or too good but what I hope to convey is that personal commandments can uplift us and strengthen us especially in our own areas of weakness. I also want to convey that although we all know we have much to work on and are trying our best, Satan can squeeze his way in and try to make us feel that what we are choosing to do is "too good" or rather that we are going overboard and/or being silly.

So here is my story. Just after I graduated from High School my best friend and I set a goal for ourselves. We often sat in front of her house in my car and talked about all sorts of things from boys to spiritual matters. On this particular occasion we talked about movies. We talked specifically about PG-13 movies.

By the end of the conversation we both had resolved to not watch PG-13 movies anymore. There was more to it than just a simple conversation between two teenage girls, I felt the Spirit confirm to me that this is what I was to do. I have not watched a PG-13 movie since. This of course was a personal decision, not a commandment given directly or specifically from the Church. For me it was a matter of my own weaknesses, the feeling I had when I watched these movies, and lastly the realization that almost all, if not all, of these movies had at least that "one part" or that "one scene".

As I have followed this "personal prompting and commandment" I have received blessings, and of course some opposition. The blessings were of my weaknesses being made stronger, my sensitivity to violence, language, and sex greatly heightened, and an increased amount of self-control.

As our journey began with this new boundary it was difficult at times but not too hard because we were generally together and so we went through it together. After that Summer we both went our separate ways to college. At first it became a little tougher. I often had to warn dates of my decision and sometimes I was greeted with simply a surprised look and others a more direct questioning of my choice. At times I wondered by Satan's encouragement, if I was being silly or if I had gone overboard in my choice. But after more time passed it became easier to forgo watching these movies. It became more natural and if others were to find out about my choice there reactions began to not matter so much to me. There now have even been instances where the material displayed in PG movies becomes offensive or hard for me to watch. The making and keeping of this personal goal or commandment has been a great blessing in my life.

Testimony

I know that what Joseph Smith said is true. "[We] cannot be too good." We can always be better. We can set personal commandments for ourselves. We can make personal decisions with the guidance of the Spirit which will strengthen our weaknesses and help us become better, not too good, but better.

I know that Satan will try to convince us otherwise. He will try to make us uncomfortable. He will try to make us feel silly or even weird. But I know that as we follow the commandments of the Lord and as we listen to the promptings of the Spirit and make choices in our lives accordingly we will be strengthened, we will become more sensitive to the Spirit, and we will gain greater self-control in our lives. I know that as we do these things we will draw closer to reaching this commandment given from the Lord, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect” (Mat. 5:48)." We will never be too good but we can become better as we strive to be more like our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Pictures Courtesy of LDS.org

Ought Thoughts

This last Sunday we had some great talks in my ward. Sometimes full talks stick out to me and sometimes little bits here and there get me thinking. This time it was a small moment in a talk but it has me thinking.

One of the speakers mentioned a seminar or a conference he went to years ago where Steven Covey was the keynote speaker. One of the things that Steven Covey talked about was "Ought Thoughts". He was speaking to business men and women on how to be successful. He told them that when they have a thought come to them like "I ought to do this" or "I ought to do that" they should do it and if they did they would have greater success. Well, I think this flows perfectly into all of our personal life businesses.

I often have quick thoughts come to my mind such as I ought to drop by and bring that person a treat or I wonder how so-and-so is doing I ought to give them a call, but do I always listen to my "Ought Thoughts", NO!

Now in this case he used the term "Ought Thoughts" and sometimes that may be all that they are but more often than not I think those thoughts are promptings from the Holy Ghost. If you ever have a thought to do something and that something is good, DO IT! There is no need to question if it is a prompting or not if it is a worthwhile, wholesome, and helpful thought.

I think that often these types of thoughts are fleeting or are simply a quick thought that can be lost. I know that I have these types of thoughts but I also know that I often dismiss them and soon forget them.

I challenge us all to listen to these promptings, these impressions, these "Ought Thoughts" and to urgently follow through or promptly write them down. And I believe that if we do this we will have greater fulfillment and success in our lives and we will come to understand and hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost more frequently and more fully.

Following the Promptings of the Spirit

"Only when my heart has been still and quiet, in submission like a little child, has the Spirit been clearly audible to my heart and mind." - President Henry B. Eyring

Last night I received a prompting that seemed almost silly to me and I thought it might have been my own worries. I was invited to attend a concert with a few members of my family. I decided I would go. I thought it sounded fun, especially to be with my sister and my Mom. As I was reading my scriptures last night I was feeling quite uneasy. I noticed that I was feeling this way but didn't know why. I continued to read when I felt I should not attend the concert. I thought I was being silly but kept thinking about this while I completed the remaining chapters of my reading. I decided that I needed to pray about this seemingly silly situation. I knelt and asked if I should go to the concert or if I had truly received a prompting. The thought quickly popped into my head about being uneasy earlier and then the Spirit whispered to me, "That is your answer."

I receive promptings on a daily basis, I am sure. I think that most often I do not notice them; that they are so woven into my daily life that they have become harder to pin point and to recognize as promptings instead I see them as my own direction and ideas. I hope to be able to be more like Elder Eyring and notice the hand of the Lord in my life daily.

No matter how simple the situation or the prompting I received last night I am grateful not only for the direction not to go but also for the wonderful experience of feeling this prompting so strongly. I don't know what would happen if I went to the concert tomorrow night but I know that the Holy Ghost gave me a warning and in so doing a great blessing that I am incredibly grateful for. The Holy Ghost truly does guide us as long as we are living worthily and find time to have our heart still, quiet, and submissive like a child.