Learn to Develop your Super Power -FAITH

Each of us have Spiritual Gifts or Super Powers if you will that have been given to us by a loving Heavenly Father.  We should study and learn all we can to develop these Super Powers.
If you don't already know what those Super Powers are.....Most members of the LDS church have been given a Patriarchal Blessing which clearly tells you which gift or gifts you have been given.
Now it is up to you to 

If you choose not to develop them...it is like the analogy of being on an all paid cruise ship and not realizing that all the food is included..so you pack some cans of soup or beans and eat that food instead.

Every Gift is HUGH....for Example: Say you've been given the gift of Faith...

Just one example of a gift: With the power of FAITH the size of a Mustard Seed...You could move a mountain. We can seek for all gifts .

WHAT IS FAITH:

Faith is an action and a power.

Alma 32:21 “If ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen which are true”

So whenever we work toward a worthy goal we exercise faith. We show our hope for something that we cannot yet see. 

Faith is like a muscle that we need to exercise in order to develop. If we use this muscle it will grow strong but if we do not use it, it will become weak and unable to move.

Other thoughts on FAITH

Ø Faith is the moving cause of all action both temporal and spiritual

Ø Faith is not only a principle of action but of power

Ø Faith is a great governing principle which has power, dominion and authority over all things.

Some simple examples of faith:

·        I learned about Faith from the Wizard of Oz – Everyone had faith in the Wizard and were quite disappointed when they found out that he was just a man. In the end, Dorothy finds out that the ruby slipper she wore had the power to help her get back home, but she didn’t believe or have faith that it would work until she had conquered the wicked witch.

·        In the movie Star Wars Yoda is the master of Faith (the Force) where he pulls the ship out of the water – Luke says, “I don’t believe it” Yoda says, “That young Skywalker is why you couldn’t do it’ 

·        Norman Vincent Peale wrote in his very famous book, The Power of Positive Thinking, which was all about how if you believed in something, you could make it happen.

·        So if you WANT anything, you have to BELIEVE in it- Work on it (applied wisdom) and that gives you FAITH. So what is it that is the most important thing that we should want Faith in?

But the true Power of Faith comes when we develop our Faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the Most Important Faith we must have.

Faith in Jesus: Article of Faith #4 states that “We believe the first principles and ordinances are first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1-    He created the Earth  - John 1:1-3, 14 “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus) and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”      (Jesus the Christ p 6) We affirm, on the authority of Holy Scripture, that the Being who is known among men as Jesus of Nazareth and by all who acknowledge His Godhood as Jesus the Christ, existed with the Father prior to birth in the flesh; and that in the preexistent state He was chosen and ordained to be the one and only Savior and Redeemer of the human race.

2-    He came to Earth in the Flesh and performed many miracles. One miracle was that He walked on water, Peter walked on water while he had his eyes focused on the Savior, but when he looked away at the wind or water, that is when he began to sink

3-    Right after hearing that His beloved cousin John the Baptist was beheaded, he was grieving and exhausted so he went to an island alone. The people had followed Him and though His disciples wanted the people to leave, Jesus bid them stay and fed all 5000 men (not counting women and children) with only2 fishes and 5 loaves.

4-    Jesus suffered all things to pay the price so we do not have to go through them. I had a Seminary teacher once who tried to explain the Atonement. He held up a flashlight and said this represents the Light within us. This toothpick represents our sins. He held up the flashlight in front of the toothpick and it cast quite a big shadow. Then he turned on an overhead projector and said this represents the Savior’s light. If you take that same sin or toothpick and put it in front of a more powerful light such as an overhead projector, the rays of light are so great that it bends around the toothpick and thus no longer casts a shadow. So it is with Christ’s light which increased with the Atonement as to overshadow the sins and cares of the entire population of all mankind. Thus Faith in our Savior is incredibly important to attaining our Salvation and Eternal Increase. 

5-    Mosiah 3:17  “There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ the Lord Omnipotent

BELIEF IS NOT ENOUGH, WHAT CAN WE DO TO DEVELOP FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST?

James 2: 17 “Even so Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”  So how do we do we do that?

Well, When my internet went down the other day I called for assistance and they said to check the power cords, reboot the battery.

When you Search and read the Holy Scriptures, I don’t know that it matters the page number or story you are on….I feel that it is like a giant power socket that you have just plugged into. It puts you in the right paradigm/frame of mind to see the world with glasses from the Light of Christ. This helps your problems, your world, your life to come into focus so you have the knowledge of what to do.

Ponder – Take time to think about what you read, make it real and listen to the Holy Spirit and how it can apply to you in your life.  Don’t turn on that tv, radio or other reading material too soon before receiving what it is the Lord would have you know.

In war one of the biggest tactics for the enemy to post is to knock out the communication of the troops with their leaders so they are isolated and do not know the current plan of action. That is what Satan would have us do. He would love to have us fill up our lives with things that keep us from communicating and building our faith in our Savior, Head and Leader Jesus Christ. Oh these things that we may be involved in may be good in and of themselves but sometimes they just take up our time and prevent us from knowing our current plan of action for these the last days in where there is so much of the Lords work to do to prepare for His coming. And That is of ultimate importance.” Thus we need to communicate with our Leader, Commander in Chief, Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through the connection of the Holy Ghost and we need to…

Pray. We need to directly communicate with our Father in Heaven. The connection was paid for by our Savior Jesus Christ.

Just one example of a gift: With the power of FAITH the size of a Mustard Seed...You could move a mountain. We can seek for all gifts .

So what are you waiting for....MOVE THAT MOUNTAIN!!

Develop your DIVINE POTENTIAL and become a SUPER POWER for the LORD.

I Hope that I can be Taken for Granted -DEPENDABLE

I used to think that being Taken for Granted was a bad thing...that you weren't appreciated or ignored...

However, I have recently come to learn the importance of the great honor it is to be Taken for Granted, that others can trust you and not worry.

If you are Taken for Granted in School it means that your teacher and classmates will not have to worry about your behavior or the fact that you will turn your homework in on time or that you will do well on tests. It means that you always get along with others and are fair with them.

If You are Taken for Granted by the people you Work with or for, that just means that they can depend on you without worry that you will do your job to the best of your ability. It means that you will be on time or early, that you will guard your responsibilities with care and that you will have the back of the company or employees which means that you will speak highly of them to others and be a good representative of the company.  Also, If you are really good at something people can Take you for Granted the fact that you will do an extraordinary job.

If you are Taken for Granted as a Spouse, it means that your spouse can count on you to always love them with all your heart and do and say everything with their best interests at heart. 

It is wonderful if your spouse can Take you for Granted when they get sick that you will take care of them and guard their sleep with silence so they can get well and watch over them to take them to the doctor if necessary. Also when you are sick you could trust that they would do your chores or take care of your responsibilities so that you would not have to worry about them while you heal.

Being Taken for Granted by your spouse means you can respect their wishes to change the little things that they want done. Perhaps it is just who does the dishes, or how clean they want the home or the noise level they prefer…but that you respect and honor their wishes right away without argument just because you honor, respect and love them. It means you are dependable to do your chores around the house that you have both decided upon. Or that you notice the little things that they desire and pick up on their verbal and non-verbal clues to put them first and do all that you can do to assure their happiness.

If you are Taken for Granted as a Spouse, it means that you have their back in public. Your partner does not have to worry whether you will do something to embarrass you or put you on the spot or whether you will say something private about them in front of others or behind their back.

It means that when you communicate or talk about anything that they do not need to worry that you would ever blame, threaten or belittle them, But that you would always validate their points and talk it out until you were both happy with the agreement. It means that if you have worked out the budget, a schedule or routine that you both honor, respect and live that decision.

If you are Taken for Granted as a Spouse it means that you honor and respect their ideas, concerns and can truly listen to them and that they can count on you to validate their feelings without a volatile reaction. It means that you listen with love and work together with love to resolve ANY issues…since marriage is all about tackling life's problems with an equal partner.

If you are Taken for Granted as a Parent, your children should be able to Take for Granted the fact that you will make sure they have food, shelter and clothing at all times during all the cross roads of their lives. They should Take for Granted that you will pick them up or drop them off on time to their events. That you will attend their events with joy and they should be able to Take for Granted that you will always say positive words of encouragement, and not embarrass them in front of others, because you know how the world may try to tear them down…and you are the main ones to build them up so they can have confidence. And that you will listen to them and nurture them and help them to grow, learn and be someone who could also be Taken for Granted to do their part someday.

It is wonderful to be Taken for Granted by your associates, your spouse, your children and others because that means that you do your part well and no one has to worry about you finishing or doing that which needs to be done. So if you ever say, "Sorry that I take you for Granted.".....I will just say, "Thank you for the compliment."