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Sunday, May 25, 2014

I Believe in the Atonement



I Believe in the Atonement

I believe in the atonement and this belief is the foundation for everything I believe and do.  Jesus Christ came to earth, lived and died on the cross for me.  I believe that if I follow Him, because of the atonement I can live with my Father in Heaven again.  I believe that this is the essence of life.  I believe that this is the Plan, return with honor.  I think more and more about what is it that I need to do in order to be worthy to live with my Father in Heaven.  I believe that if we spent more time thinking about how to return to live with God we would begin to live, because the Spirit will teach us, we would begin to be the person we need to be in order to live in God’s presence.  Our minds are filled with so much, “I need to do this or that,” and the, this or that really matters only a little.  Yes we have to work to provide for our families, we need to take care of our children and we need to do many, many things.  But what is it we spend our free time thinking about?  When everything we have to do is done what do we think about?  I most often think about how do I return, what do I need to do in order to be worthy?  That takes me back to the atonement.  Jesus Christ is the way; the doctrine of Christ, His atonement is the way back home.  I know I need to be clean, for no unclean can enter the presence of God, and only through repentance can I become clean, only through the atonement.  I need to lose my life in the service of others, Mathew 16:25 says, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”  Along this road I believe I will learn what I need to know and what I need to do in order to return to Father in Heaven and I believe the atonement is the key.  I believe in the atonement.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

I Believe in Early to Bed and Early to Rise



I Believe in Early to Bed and Early to Rise

I believe in early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.  This quote is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. I’m not sure about the wealthy part but I would agree with the other two.  I love getting up early and having the time to do the things I love to do.  It’s 4:46am and I have been up for about a half an hour and I have no one who will bother me for the next 2 hours.  I will get my 2 blog posts written and read the newspaper online and check facebook, instagram and my email.  I will still have time to read the scriptures or listen to a conference talk.  At about 7:00am Chris and I will go for a walk and it is a great way to start the day.  I am always ready for bed about 9:00pm and asleep soon after that.  I don’t think it ever takes me more than about 5 minutes to fall asleep.  The words from the Sound of Music song come to my mind, “The sun has gone to bed and so must I” and depending on the time of year that is exactly how I feel.  For me this saying makes sense and it is the way I live.  So, I believe in early to bed, early to rise and if it makes me healthy, wealthy, and wise so much the better.