D&C 93:1

This verse has always been meaningful to me. Those who follow these steps will see Christ.
(Organizational numbers added)

"VERILY, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who

1. forsaketh his sins
2. and cometh unto me,
3. and calleth on my name,
4. and obeyeth my voice,
5. and keepeth my commandments,

* shall see my face and know that I am;"

(1-5) are the conditions
(*) is the promise

How does one forsake his sins?
• Through faith in the Atonement
• Repentance
• Seeking virtuous things(Article of Faith 13) to replace the unvirtuous things in our life

How does one come unto Christ?
• Studying his words
• Consistently striving to become like him

How does one call on Christ's name?
• Deep and thoughtful prayer

How do we obey Christ's voice?
• Obtain his voice through revelation
• Follow those feelings and thoughts consistently

How do we keep Christ's commandments?
• Learn the commandments through reading the scriptures to understand what they are
• Set goals to internalize the most personally difficult commandments


I will add to this list later...

Being Blind

Here's an entry in my note journal that I thought I would share from March 1st.

Scripture Study while @ work

Today, I've been reading in Matthew learning more about the Savior's life and ministry while he was on this earth. I've been reading for about 2 hours now, in between calls at work, yet nothing I've read today impacted me as strongly as this short miracle that Jesus performs for two blind men.

Matthew 20:32-34

^30. And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

^31. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

^32. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?

^33. They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.

^34. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him

Comparing this to other miracles that I had recently read about, (like Christ raising the dead) it seems odd, that this one stood out to me so strongly. The verses of 30 and 31 of this chapter, painted the scene so clearly: Two blind men sitting by the road, Jesus Christ and his followers passing by, the two men cry out, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David!", Christ's followers "rebuked them" ( Rebuke: to express sharp, stern disapproval of; reprove; reprimand. -Dicitonary.com ), Yet, "Jesus stood still, and answered them."

I can't help but wonder about those two blind men. Who were they? How long had they been blind? Where were their families? What kind of hardships had they been through?

What did Jesus Christ see in them that others did not see?

What does Christ see in me?

(While typing this I noticed that it was Christ's followers that chastised the blind men for calling out to Christ, while weren't they themselves blind to the worth of these two men? I think, in a way, we are all blind, and, in contrast, it is Christ who is the one who can see all things.)

I am so grateful for my Savior. His compassion becomes more and more clear to me as I read of his life in Matthew. His compassion and mercy is my hope and security. I know he lives and I will follow him. I hope that as I follow Christ, I will not be blind as his followers were, but learn to see the value of everyone and everything.

-Tessa Dior

A Bible, a Bible, we have a Bible

Over time, interpretations are added to doctrines that make them lose their true value and meaning. The jews added their interpretations to the law which prevented them from accepting the new law when Christ came. Similarly, Christianity interpreted the scriptures in a way that was incompatible with new revelation.

Holding on to beliefs and traditions is part of human nature which has been of great benefit to humanity. However it can also have the negative effect of maintaining incorrect traditions and false interpretations of scripture. It can make us closed off to new learning that may come from revelation and/or science.

One of the great benefits of science is that it can challenge our interpretations and assumptions that we have wrapped around pure doctrine. Those who reject good science from a religious standpoint may sometimes be like those who say that they already have a bible and need no more bible. Those with strong testimony and faith should not fear new knowledge even if it doesn't reach us through theological channels first.

It's the Little Things

I was having kind of a rough night tonight and some bad memories were bouncing around my mind. That horrible overwhelming tidal wave of emotion was creeping ever so slowly towards my sanity and I knew I couldn't hold the tears in any longer.

When I was down and feeling as low as I could be, my mom talked to me. And that helped a little. I got some good advice and got some things off my chest.

And then my mom said we had got heart-attacked. (This is when hearts are plastered all over your front door in an expression of love.) On the door step was a little bag of candy for me with Happy Valentines Day! written all over it. I'm not sure who it was from, but I think it was my relief society presidency.

And then my friend told me that I was so cool on Facebook. I mean, how could that possibly help, right? But it did. It made me warm all the way to my toes.

I love the Heavenly Father sends us friends and family to help us. Even when we don't necessarily ask for it.

Mediocre Turkeys

"Remember the Turkeys who learned to fly, and then walked home." -a quote from James C. Christensen's journal.

In this quote, I relate myself to those turkeys at the times in my life, when I become comfortable in a state of mediocrity. Mediocre in this sense meaning: of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate. (dictionary.com)

I've been taught, since youth, that as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, that we were never meant to let ourselves settle to be anything less than our very best. In fact, we are expected to reach beyond what the world expects of us, and become a better people.

"Men cannot really long rest content with mediocrity once they see excellence is within their reach."

-Thomas S. Monson

In a New Era article, by Sterling W. Sill in 1976, this assistant to the Council of the Twelve went as far as to compare mediocrity to a trap. A means of the devil for the purpose to capture, defeat, confound, or ensnare. The following is the concluding paragraph from that message.

"Each of us is a child of God, formed in God’s image and endowed with his attributes, heir to his kingdom, with an understanding of our own eternal potentialities. There is everything in knowing our origin and destiny and in constantly reaffirming them in our lives. We are the offspring of divinity. We have inherited the creator’s wisdom and power. We should cling to our inheritance. We should think of ourselves as children of omnipotence. We should never let the thought escape us, even for a moment. We should keep our feet out of the traps, and we should never let evil destroy this inspiring picture of ourselves."

When we settle into that false sense of security of mediocrity, it may seem as if you are at a neutral stand. You may think you are neither moving more towards God, or towards Satan, but in reality you are moving towards something worse. You become indifferent, and when you are indifferent, nothing can help you except yourself. You literally become your worst enemy.

I attended a class by Sister Wilcken in August of 2008, which was titled, The Enemy Within. This class really inspired me to snap out of my state of mediocrity and work, really work towards the better future. I remember a quote from Sister Holland that she shared with us,

"Our worst enemy is ourselves. If we are constantly fighting internal fears, then we won't have energy for the ones that come from the outside."

When I first heard that quote about the turkeys who learned to fly and then walked home, I thought it was pretty funny, but the more I thought about it, the more serious I realized it was. I realized that I'm often a turkey. I have been given this gospel ever since I can first remember, a doctrine that is meant to help me find that eternal potential and reach a divine and holy state. And what a gift it is! Going back to Sister Wilcken's words,

"If you reject a gift, you reject the giver of the gift. Would you reject your God? For he has given you everything."

I suppose the purpose of my sharing this with you, is to encourage you to remember your God- and not be a turkey.

Testimony and Reason

Chris' Dad, Richard N. Williams, gave a BYU devotional in 2000. In his devotional he said something very profound to me. He said that the truth of Mormonism is not established by reason, nor is it justified by theology. "The truth of Mormonism rests on the occurrence of certain events.", he said. The events such as the Atonement, the first vision, the translation of the gold plates either happened or they didn't happen.

The truth of these events is established, not by reason, but by witnesses. There are many witnesses from those who handled the gold plates, to our modern day prophet and apostles who are special witnesses of the truth. The Book of Mormon is one of the most powerful witnesses that we have access to daily.

A testimony will starve if all we feed it is reason. Our testimony's need nourishment from witnesses that proclaim the truth of the gospel.

Evolution

In the past few months, I have been thinking a lot about economic processes such as markets. I believe that the theory is compelling that the free market is remarkably orderly. It coordinates information throughout an economy efficiently through prices. Prices convey information such as supply and demand which cause people to change their behavior. The idea that government can control the market or make the market more efficient is wholly arrogant and misguided. When the market process is left alone, it selects products and services that are the most valued by society. It also selects for beneficial behavior.

The concept of market process was incredibly similar to the idea of natural selection and evolution within biology. It seemed that I had to accept the process of biological evolution to maintain logical consistency. I knew so little about evolution that I decided to study it. Yesterday, I was studying evolution and I felt that what I was studying was true. I felt so much gratitude towards God for the wonderful feelings that I experienced. I hope to share more of what I am learning about evolution and how it fits into the gospel.

Here is a quote from Gordon B. Hinckley:
“I remember when I was a college student there were great discussions on the question of organic evolution. I took classes in geology and biology and heard the whole story of Darwinism as it was then taught. I wondered about it. I thought much about it. But I did not let it throw me, for I read what the scriptures said about our origins and our relationship to God. Since then I have become acquainted with what to me is a far more important and wonderful kind of evolution. It is the evolution of men and women as the sons and daughters of God, and of our marvelous potential for growth as children of our Creator.”
—President Gordon B. Hinckley, “God Hath Not Given Us the Spirit of Fear,” Ensign, Oct. 1984, 5