The Thorn in MY flesh

I used to work as a fitness trainer helping people overcome life-long habits of poor health.  There were many times that I listened as someone expressed their difficulty with overcoming cravings for unhealthy food.  I could see that these people were so sincerely wanting to change but seemed unable to make it happen for good.  I remember pondering on why it was so hard for some people to control what they fed to their bodies.  No one was physically forcing a brownie into their mouths.  My compassion was not where it needed to be at that point because I had not yet experienced........

The Thorn in MY flesh.

I was recently talking with someone I admire very much and he said to me something along the lines of: "it is in vain for us to consciously be breaking a commandment on a regular basis and expect our prayers - our personal conversations with God - to be truly sincere." 

The second he said it I felt a twinge of guilt within my spirit.  I was consciously breaking a commandment without any consistent effort on my part to change.  For years the words of the Lord in D&C 88:124 had nagged at my conscience:

"Retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, 

that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated."

For the first few years I came up with reasons trying to justify why that counsel did not apply to me.  Then I became a little more teachable and began thinking "I need to obey this and I will........when the summer comes and it is lighter in the mornings."  Then the summer would come and I wouldn't change my habit.  So I would decide it would be easier for me to go to bed early in the winter when it was dark earlier, but that would not change it.  I decided that I needed to schedule exercise commitments early in the mornings a few times a week to make me get up early but I only ended up sleeping in much later on the other mornings.  I started setting timers and reminders for myself but that did not work.  I finally decided that it was my husband's fault and if he changed his work schedule then I would start going to bed early - well, he drastically changed his work schedule and I was still climbing into bed at midnight.

I finally realize what it means to have a thorn in MY flesh- a habit that seems bigger than my ability to change it.  I had tried and failed, and tried and failed, and tried and failed, and tried and failed..... 

Finally I just decided that I would obey it for sure--- at some point in the future and that is where I left it.  Then I had this conversation and realized that my prayers had not been sincere and filled with the Spirit.  This was not because I was still staying up late but because I was not STILL TRYING to overcome the habit.  

When we are struggling with very difficult thorns in our flesh, as long as we are still trying to overcome them, that is precisely when our prayers will be as sincere and meaningful as can be.  

God knows we will have setbacks - He expected it from the very beginning which is why He provided a Savior for us.  He is not concerned so much in us failing when we try - but He is certainly concerned if we fail to try again.

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has increased.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, I am trying again!  And I will keep trying, and trying, and trying, knowing that as long as I am sincerely trying the Lord will make up the rest - and my personal conversations with Him will be meaningful.

I know there are blessings attached to this particular law.  I have felt the increased productivity and order that prevails in our home when we live life this way and I want to master this habit for good.  I know that I can and will in time with God's help as long as I do my part to just keep trying.  Which means I need to go get ready for bed right now!  :)  Good Night! 

Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom....

“Self-education is the only possible education; the rest is mere veneer laid on the surface of a child's nature.” 

“Thought breeds thought; children familiar with great thoughts take as naturally to thinking for themselves as the well-nourished body takes to growing; and we must bear in mind that growth, physical, intellectual, moral, spiritual, is the sole end of education.”  

"The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days."

- Charlotte Mason - 

Her writings have shaped our family's approach to home-schooling.

 They are filled with truth and wisdom.  Every mother and teacher would benefit from reading and pondering her words.

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"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom."

"He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors."

- Thomas Jefferson -

His courage and commitment to truth paved the way for freedom and provided an environment where the restoration of the gospel could begin.  

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“William Carey chides his countrymen for deciding it would be impossible for the Gospel to travel over great distances and to penetrate varied cultures when they are willing to face the same trials for the sake of commerce.” 

   “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” 

- William Carey -

He used up his mortal life in serving God and did not allow worldly acquisitions and endeavours to distract him from his God-given mission.

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"And as the circumcised in the flesh, and not in the heart, have no part in God's good promises; even so they that be baptized in the flesh, and not in heart, have no part in Christ's blood."

- William Tyndale -

This man sacrificed his very life (along with many others) in preparing the way for the restoration of the gospel. 

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"Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege." 

 "seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith."
 

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;"

 

 - Jesus Christ -

D&C 88

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I began this post with quotes from a few people whose lives and words have inspired me.  There are two reasons why I did this.  First of all, I wanted to point out that their language is of such a higher caliber than what we hear in our current conversations and writings.  Find the most popular blog on the internet, the most viewed series on television, or the latest new book and you will find language that is not near as beautiful and uplifting as these quotes above.  As a society we have not been filling our minds with ideas and language that takes us to a higher level and thus we have gone backwards in our speaking and conduct from the point where our founding fathers began.

I remember being a leader over a ten-year old girl from our church and I was always saddened inside because what came out of her mouth was a constant stream of silly, crude, unintelligent comments that came straight from the cartoon channels on television into her sweet impressionable spirit and then she brought them with her to our church classroom.  I wanted to tell her parents: "You are not raising Sponge Bob!  You have been given the sacred responsibility of raising a daughter of God!  Please, feed her spirit those things that are right, true, and inspiring so she could stand in God's presence once again and not feel out of place there."

The second thing I wanted to point out is that these people spoke with real power and authority because the Spirit accompanied their words.  It is the role of the Holy Ghost to bear witness of the truth.  So, if we want to feel the companionship of the Holy Ghost more frequently then we need to immerse ourselves in truth - reading it, pondering it, speaking it, living it.   If we want our children to become confident in recognizing and following the Spirit, then we need to provide the very sources which will bring the Spirit as often as possible so they can build that relationship of familiarity and trust.  

When Lehi journeyed from Jerusalem to the promised land he was directed by the Lord to take with him the records of the scriptures and their genealogy.  This was done so that their language and true history would be preserved.  Ponder on what God would ask us to retain today if we needed to preserve the future language and understanding of our children.  Would we pack the most popular books and movies of our day?  Would Lehi have gone out and packed up all that was popular in Jerusalem and carried it away with him?  Certainly not!  It was precisely because of all that was popular in Jerusalem that the Lord was commanding him to leave.

Carefully (and prayerfully) scrutinize every book that you have in your home and ask yourself: would this belong in a Zion environment?  Or would this prevent my home from becoming a Zion environment?  Is it filled with language and content that is moral, uplifting, and wholesome or does it contain even the smallest stain of the world?  Most importantly, does the Spirit accompany the words written within?

When all the destruction and death takes place before the second coming of Jesus Christ we will have a great amount of work to do.  We will be held responsible for re-building our society.  But we will not be re-building it how it was before.  We will be building up a society that the world has not known since the days of the Nephites after Christ's visit to them in the ancient America's.  It will be the same kind of society that Enoch helped to establish in his days.

This process of building up Zion starts within our own hearts then extends to our marriage, our family, our extended family, and finally our community.  We cannot be successful in bringing about permanent change in the society around us if we have not yet followed the invitation to bring about that change within ourselves.

Satan is so pleased when we spend our time watching the latest movies, playing the latest video games, and quoting and mimicking all the fictitious characters contained in those activities.  Not that these things are bad, but precisely because they keep us from focusing on that which is good and true.

There are many courageous men and women throughout history whose stories would touch us more deeply and inspire us more profoundly than any pretend story ever could.  Why?  Because we know we are reading about real people - this knowledge plants within our own hearts a connection with someone who really lived in mortality, who really felt the whisperings of the Spirit in their heart, who really overcame great odds and ridicule to be true to the inspiration they had been given.  They are real, and we are real - and if we hear enough stories of real courage, real miracles, and real obedience we begin to believe that those things can really happen in our own lives.  That God is and has been playing a role in individual's lives all throughout history and because of it those people rose to higher planes than they ever would have on their own.  We begin to believe that God has a work for us to do as well and we gain greater faith to follow the guidance of the Spirit within our own hearts.

Don't we need those kinds of stories in our lives?  Don't our children need those kinds of stories in their lives?  Consider what the prophecies tell us we are facing in the last days.  We are going to need many miracles to make it through and those miracles will only come through faith.  We need to fill our spirits and our children's spirits with as many examples of real faith as we possibly can in the time remaining.     

When it comes to these men and women of courage and faith Satan has labored diligently to spread falsehoods about their character and the divine guidance that motivated their accomplishments.  A quick search on the internet will show you that these great heroes are being portrayed as people of low morale.  Joseph Smith was told that this would happen to him as well.  One of the best ways to learn the truth of these men and women is by going back to their own original words and journals.  This allows us to feel the Spirit of truth and enlightenment that attended their very words. 

In our own home we threw out all of our "good" and "better" books through the direction of the Spirit and have slowly replaced them with that which is "best."  The Spirit told me that the majority of our modern books are written with only some truth and the rest are polluted with the philosophies of men.  We must preserve that which is best and will bring about a caliber of people who are moral, just, thoughtful, and obedient.   A caliber of people prepared to be in the Savior's presence when He returns.

This is not an assignment for just our family alone but everyone who feels the Spirit testify in their own heart that they are to create a "Holy Place" for the Spirit of God to reign freely.  Eventually we all have a higher level of character to rise to.  Those who are responsible for fulfilling this assignment at this very time will feel that calling within their hearts even as they read this.


I wanted to end with another inspiring quote written by one of my ancestors:

"But let them plan and devise; there is a God who still directs, still holds the destiny of nations in His hands; and against His designs and will, they can do nothing.  But as truth, eternal truth, is destined to prevail over evil, and right to triumph over sin and wickedness, their perseverance in plotting evil and opposing the Almighty in His great plan of redemption must eventually prove their own overthrow.  I deeply regret their blindness and shudder for the misery they are storing up for themselves." 

 

 Jacob Miller 
1870

There are treasures to be found that will bring us and our children to a higher level of faith, courage, understanding -  ultimately a higher level of character.  Anything that is worth it comes with a price tag.  Are we willing to clear out that which hinders our spiritual growth and 'give place no more for the enemy of our souls'?