Always Remember Him

What a challenge to always remember Him, but what great promises are tied in to that commandment.

Scorchi made some wonderful comments in the last post, so I suggest that you read those comments. I also suggest that you read a conference talk by Henry B. Eyring, called O Remember, Remember. Here's a quote from that talk:

My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness . . .

And the challenge to remember has always been the hardest for those who are blessed abundantly. Those who are faithful to God are protected and prospered. That comes as the result of serving God and keeping His commandments. But with those blessings comes the temptation to forget their source. It is easy to begin to feel the blessings were granted not by a loving God on whom we depend but by our own powers.

Later on, he says:

There is a simple cure for the terrible malady of forgetting God, His blessings, and His messages to us. Jesus Christ promised it to His disciples when He was about to be crucified, resurrected, and then taken away from them to ascend in glory to His Father. They were concerned to know how they would be able to endure when He was no longer with them.

Here is the promise. It was fulfilled for them then. It can be fulfilled for all of us now:

“These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”5

The key to the remembering that brings and maintains testimony is receiving the Holy Ghost as a companion. It is the Holy Ghost who helps us see what God has done for us.

Take time to read Brother Eyring's talk. He urges us to notice and record our many blessings as a way to see the hand of God in our lives. And that will help us remember.

Formula for Joy

King Benjamin gives a sure-fire formula for joy and happiness (Mosiah 4:11). As a matter of fact, the promises are 1). Always rejoice 2). Be filled with the love of God 3). Retain a remission of your sins 4). Grow in the knowledge of the glory of God. And there are lots of other promises that I'll discuss later.

Here is the formula. I should precede this by saying that Benjamin is talking to people who are full of joy, having just received a remission of their sins. So he's speaking to an educated and converted congregation. He tells them (and us) how to retain this conversion. He says:

• Remember and keep remembering the greatness of God. Remember your own nothingness. Remember His goodness and patience with you.
• Humble yourselves
• Call on the Lord daily
• Stand steadfast in the faith of Christ

That doesn't sound too hard, does it? It sounds simple. Just four little steps. Remembering looks to me like the key. If I remember God and how great He is, and my own insignificance, I might not get too puffed up with pride in my own achievements, so I would be humble. If I remember His goodness and patience with me, I would always want to call on the Lord frequently. If I remember God and his promises, I would have the strength to always stand steadfast in the faith of His Son. If I could just not get distracted and always remember.

How do I do that? How do I remember Him?

See That Ye Do Them

Mosiah 4:10 And again, believe that ye must ^arepent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in ^bsincerity of heart that he would ^cforgive you; and now, if you ^dbelieve all these things see that ye ^edo them.

There are many things which we believe, but we don't always do them. I believe strongly and with great passion that exercise is good for me. But many times I hover at the decision to go to the gym or stay home. And I choose to stay home and read a book or watch TV. I know that certain foods are bad for me, but I choose to eat them. I know that I could be more valiant in my callings, but I choose to procrastinate and scrape by, getting my visiting teaching done at the last minute. I know temple worship is important, but months go by without a single visit to the temple.

King Benjamin says, "See that ye do them". It's not enough to believe. We need to DO.

No More Blameless

King Benjamin tells us in Mosiah 3:22-27 of the plight of those who choose to reject Christ. He says: They shall stand as a bright testimony against this people, at the judgment day; whereof they shall be judged, every man according to his ^aworks, whether they be good, or whether they be evil.

25 And if they be evil they are consigned to an awful ^aview of their own guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord into a state of ^bmisery and ^cendless torment, from whence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their own souls.

So when we stand before God, we will see all of the things we have done wrong, all of our evil intentions, all of the things we've tried to hide from others and ourselves. Those who have made no attempt to repent will see themselves as they really are, and King Benjamin says that view will cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord. Sometimes we have the impression that the Lord is standing with an accusing look, pointing towards Hell, sending sinners away from Him. But it says here, that they (hopefully not "we") will "shrink" from His presence, and send themselves into a state of misery and endless torment. Just as a child hides from its parents when it's done something wrong, they will want to hide from the Lord so that He can't see the evil they've done. They will condemn themselves.

Take Counsel, Prepare, Organize

I've been reading in the book of Abraham, in the Pearl of Great Price. He was shown a vision of the creation of the earth. He talks specifically about how the gods "took counsel among themselves", how they "prepared the earth", and how they "organized the earth".

It seems to me that these principles should apply in my life as well. We as a family or as a couple need to take counsel among ourselves to decide what needs to be done for any problem or challenge. We need to prepare, to get things ready. And we need to organize.

These ideas seem obvious to most people. But I have always been organizationally-challenged. I tend to just rush headlong into doing something and then discover that I don't know what I'm doing or don't have the needed supplies. Instead, I need to discuss and think it through, get ready and organize. Then I'll be ready to get going and DO IT!

He has Caused that I Should Rejoice

Mosiah 2:20 He has caused that we should rejoice! He provides us with opportunities and reasons to rejoice. He doesn't force us. He gives us many causes to rejoice, but we have to choose to open our eyes and see them. We have to cherish our relationships with our loved ones. We have to realize our blessings. We have to look around and see the beauty He has surrounded us with.

A recent talk that was part of Music and the Spoken Word really touched my heart. A quote from that broadcast: Indeed, the world offers us daily moments of beauty that can enrich our lives—if we open our eyes and open our hearts.

Walking around under my own power, taking the world for granted, rushing through my days, thinking that my achievements are all my own, these are such easy mistakes to make. But they not only rob God of the credit for my blessings, but they rob me of the joy I could receive if would I acknowledge His hand in every aspect of my life.

President Uchtdorf gave a talk called, Have We Not Reason to Rejoice? Read it. It really helped me realize how many wonderful blessings I have.

The Lord has certainly caused me to rejoice.

Live and Move and Do

I love King Benjamin! He teaches us some very powerful things, things that have really helped and supported me at difficult times in my life. Here are some things King Benjamin says the Lord has done for us:

• Created us
• Preserves us
• Lends us breath
• Allows us to live and move and do according to our own will
• Supports us from one moment to another
• Causes us to rejoice

There have been times in my life when, because of my arthritis, I was in a lot of pain and couldn't get around very well. At those times, especially, King Benjamin's words would come to my mind. I could picture the Lord, with unseen arms, helping me move from place to place, supporting me from one moment to another. He even lends us breath! Those thoughts gave me a great deal of comfort and peace when times were difficult. I'm so grateful for the supporting arms of the Lord in my life.