Focus on Christ

A few years back when all the family had come to our  place, I remember one of our grandchildren seemed to have a hard time paying attention to what his parents were asking him to do.  I watched his father gently cup his hands around his face and say, “Look at me, son.”  Then he said to him, “Stay focused.”  Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we must remain focused on our duties, responsibilities and goals.  I wonder at times if perhaps Heavenly Father would like to gently cup his hands around our face and say to each of us, “look at me, stay focused, these are valuable lessons which are for your own good”.

A lot of times we go through life checking off things on our “To Do” lists that may not really have any bearing on our Eternal goal.  We must invest our energy, our minds, our hearts and our souls on those things of eternal value.  There are many things that compete for our attention, but we must remember to stay focused on what really matters.

Let me share this experience according Matthew in the New Testament.

            “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

            “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

            “But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

            “And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

            “And he said, Come.  And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

            “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

            “And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

            “And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

            “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying; Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

So, we might ask the question, why did Peter begin to walk on the water toward Jesus, and then began to sink?  Peter, “saw the wind boisterous”, and therefore lost his focus on the Savior.  He became distracted and was afraid.  You and I can lose our focus on Christ and his teachings by being distracted by those temptations and things about us each day.  Sometimes we get started on the right path and then find ourselves headed in the wrong direction.  We can also have times when we can be fearful and afraid to keep our focus on Christ because of our peers and what they might think and say.  I know that our happiness all depends on just where our focus in life is and I know that Christ should be at the center of our focus for us to find true joy. 

Missionaries In Every Land

Have you ever got up in the morning and had a song going through your head?  Well, for some reason I have had this song in my head now for three days.  Then to add to that, we went to our district meeting with the other missionaries here in the area to learn more about how we can be effective in our work. Well, our leader told us what song we were to sing and it happened to be the one I have had in my head for the last three days.  So maybe I am to share it with others.   I will quote the song, it has a great message about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and as missionaries we are sharing that message with the world


Hark, All Ye Nations!

Boldly

31243, Hymns, Hark, All Ye Nations!, no. 264

1. Hark, all ye nations!
Hear heaven’s voice
Thru ev’ry land that all may rejoice!
Angels of glory shout the refrain:
Truth is restored again!

[Chorus]
Oh, how glorious from the throne above
Shines the gospel light of truth and love!
Bright as the sun, this heavenly ray
Lights ev’ry land today.

2. Searching in darkness, nations have wept;
Watching for dawn, their vigil they’ve kept.
All now rejoice; the long night is o’er.
Truth is on earth once more!

3. Chosen by God to serve him below,
To ev’ry land and people we’ll go,
Standing for truth with fervent accord,
Teaching his holy word.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has over 52,000 missionaries all over the world proclaiming that the truth has been restored to the earth again.   It is a glorious day that we have the light of the gospel and we know that it is through this gospel that we can find the peace and happiness we all need in our lives.  I know that it is true and that Jesus Christ's church has been restored just the way it was when Christ was here on the earth.  What a great blessing to have that knowledge. You can listen to this song at this link.  http://lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,4996-1,00.html

Sharing the Joy

We have had a little success as we have been serving our Father in Heaven and sharing the gospel.  After we had taught one father about the gospel and he had felt the spirit bear witness to him of its truthfulness he chose to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by one holding the Priesthood authority.  That authority comes directly from our Heavenly Father and is the power given to man to act in His name and has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  After he had been baptized he gave me a hug and told me he was so happy.  I told him that I'll bet I am happier than you are.  He could not understand that.  I said that when you can share the joy that you feel in the gospel with others and they can feel that same joy it can make you even happier.  I refer to the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants 18:15  15And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one ^asoul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!  I testify that when you can feel that great joy in your life, you want to share it with others so they can have that same joy in their lives.  Scriptures and more can be found at http://lds.org/?lang=eng

Real Joy

I would like to tell you a little about Joy.  Joy is me.  That is my name.  My mother said they gave me that name because I brought so much joy into their life.  I was their bundle of Joy and was my parents first child.  While growing up I did not think much about my name, it was just my name just like any other name.  It was not until much later in my life that I started to thinking about it.  I then realized that I had a great responsibility to live up to that name and that I was suppose to bring joy to others.  Then I began to realize that I also needed to feel joy for myself and to be happy, especially if I was to make others happy.  Joy is a feeling of great happiness or it is something that makes you feel very happy or pleased.  

I know that it is because of the gospel of Jesus Christ that I can feel joy in my life.  It is because of the Plan of Happiness or the Plan of Salvation that was set up by our Heavenly Father.  It is because we know where we came from, why we are hear and where we are going when this life is over.  I feel joy when I feel love in our family and I know that if we live the principles of the gospel we can all be together again in the next life.  My parents have passed on and I know that I will be able to see them again and feel of their love for me.  I hope and pray that they will be pleased with me when I meet them again.  

In 3 John 1:4 is reads, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."  I have learned over the years that it is more important to me and I feel the greatest joy when I know that my children and grandchildren are living the principles of the gospel and living a good life of faithfulness.  

I have also learned that as my husband and I serve a mission hear in Tennessee, we have felt that great joy when we have been able to see others accept the gospel and have come to feel that joy in their lives.  We are more than happy to share the joy we feel with others. Check this place out for answers.    http://mormon.org/

Joy in My Heart

I really enjoyed conference, It brought joy to my heart as we watched each of the messages given to us.  In the Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 we read, "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my ^aword shall not pass away, but shall all be ^bfulfilled, whether by mine own ^cvoice or by the ^dvoice of my ^eservants, it is the ^fsame."  So the messages we received came from our Heavenly Father.  If we are in tune with the spirit we can be inspired as to what we need for our personal lives to help us to come to Christ and feel that ultimate joy.  Conference can be viewed or listened to at the church web site.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

lds.org

Official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Scriptures, general conference addresses, Church magazines, temple information, stake and ward websites.

First Presidency says Conference Brings Blessings.

As we listen to General Conference it can bring many blessings into our lives.  We can find answers to problems and questions we may have.  It can also help us to feel peace and joy as well as strengthen our testimonies of the gospel.  The Prophet says it is a time to be instructed and inspired and those who speak have sought Heavens help in what messages they are to give.  In other words, the Lord is speaking to us through them.  It is important that we participate and apply their teaching to our lives.  As we are obedient to the messages we will come to know true joy.
http://lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/unto-all-the-world/conference-participation-brings-blessings-first-presidency-says?lang=eng

General Conference

It is with great joy and anticipation that we get to watch general conference.  I know that we have a living prophet on the earth today, Thomas S. Monson, and that he is here to guide and help us with our lives.  He is the Prophet for the whole world and not just for the members of the church.  We also have 12 apostles and they will all speak to us the next two days.  If we follow their counsel and direction we will find great joy and peace in our lives.  I love the spirit that comes into our home as we are listening and watching these great leaders speak to us.