Sunday. I absolutely love Sunday! Such a peaceful, relaxing day to help ease you into a busy week. I feel like each Sunday I learn more about myself and where I would like to be in the future. As the day comes to an end I’m feel inspired and motivated, so obviously I had to write about it!! Today I learned more about what it means to be a True Disciple of Christ. We had the most AMAZING speaker in sacrament, and I could not help but tear up at her powerful message!
She started off by telling a story:
[John Bytheway 2009 – You Always Remember Him// you are hearing my quick version but the full version is here] Two rock climbers were repelling down the face of a mountain. As they were descending, one of the climbers ropes came loose and he started to fall towards the ground [which would result in death]. The second climber acted fast (risking his own life) and caught the falling climber.. saving his life. When the climber who had fallen was asked to recall his experience he answered saying: “[Don] saved my life. How do you respond to a guy like that? Give him a used climbing rope for a Christmas present? No, you remember him. You always remember him.”
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[This story hit home for me. Man.. can you imagine being in that situation. Once it is all said and done, how do you respond to someone who risked everything for you? What do you say to someone who saved your life?]
She then went on to pose a question. Christ SAVED our lives… Christ risked EVERYTHING for us…. What do we say to him? – Will we always remember him? Do we always remember him? // Now that we are thinking hard about this topic, [& I’m sure we all are feeling somewhat guilty of not ALWAYS remembering..(I know I am)] where do we go from here?…… Man that question is overwhelming (although the answer is simple.) We need to remember Him. [Obviously…] How exactly do we remember him? — We remember him by being a true disciple. We remember him by living the gospel, and by being the best we can be. By serving others, and having a desire to share our love of Christ. That is where the beautiful words START WHERE YOU STAND come into play. The first step to bettering ourselves and remembering Him is to have a desire to change and to grow. //
Along with powerful stories, she referenced a lot to a conference talk given in April 2009 by President Dieter F. Uchdorft – Way of the Disciple. There is so much good in this talk, but here are some highlights that stood out to me:
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“The more we are filled with the Spirit of God, the more we extend ourselves to others. We become peacemakers in our homes and families, we help our fellowmen everywhere, and we reach out in merciful acts of kindness, forgiveness, grace, and long-suffering patience.” // “Too often we approach the gospel like a farmer who places a seed in the ground in the morning and expects corn on the cob by the afternoon. When Alma compared the word of God to a seed, he explained that the seed grows into a fruit-bearing tree gradually, as a result of our “faith, and [our] diligence, and patience, and long-suffering.” — From the very moment we set foot upon the pathway of discipleship, seen and unseen blessings from God begin to attend us. But we cannot receive the fulness of those blessings if we “neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment. Knowing that the seed is good is not enough. We must “nourish it with great care, that it may get root.” Only then can we partake of the fruit that is “sweet above all that is sweet, and … pure above all that is pure” and “feast upon this fruit even until [we] are filled, that [we] hunger not, neither shall [we] thirst.”
Discipleship is a journey. We need the refining lessons of the journey to craft our character and purify our hearts. By patiently walking in the path of discipleship, we demonstrate to ourselves the measure of our faith and our willingness to accept God’s will rather than ours.”
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He then goes on to address those who feel inadequate [most of us], and those who feel like they will never be good enough, and he explains that the Lord needs you, WE need you. Powerful! // You guys, all we need to do is EMBRACE the gospel! We just need to be better today than we were yesterday, no major changes overnight, just diligence and a desire to do better, BE BETTER. It is ALWAYS the right time to walk in His way. It is NEVER too late.
Christ Saved our lives.
All we need to do is remember. We just need to START WHERE WE STAND on the journey to become a Disciple of Christ // By being a true disciple of Christ, that is how we repay him… THAT is how we remember him.
The words today were just too goooooooooood to go without sharing. Hope you are all having the best Sunday filled with family, friends and the spirit!
