Filled with light - blessings of being close to the Savior

D.C. 88 has been terrific to read. Here's the verse I probably enjoyed the most:

67And if your eye be ^asingle to my ^bglory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light ^ccomprehendeth all things.

This verse is so enjoyable because I can see it happening in my own life a little. As I've been more focused on learning the gospel and praying better, I have been happier. In addition, it feels like I have been able to learn more about many things. Additional ideas have come to my mind that didn't exist before.

For instance, on Monday I was writing about evidence of God existing. It wasn't until the very end that I concluded that the defining trait of something having God's "touch" is order. I didn't realize it until the very end when I wrote that word and after thinking for a couple minutes. However, I feel pretty good that this is correct. The idea was given to me.

This idea of comprehending more when there's light in you overlaps some with the idea that God will teach you as you teach others.

78Teach ye diligently and my ^agrace shall attend you, that you may be ^binstructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;

Both of these verses are true. As we seek righteousness and try to teach one another this righteousness, we will learn so much. We learn about spiritual and temporal things in the process.

I think the conclusion is, seek after righteousness the best you can and try to teach it to others. It will be well worth it in every phase of life.

Elder Eyring in his talk "Learning in the Priesthood" made this same point.

Here's a story he gave to illustrate that learning in the priesthood or the things of God will teach you so much about many topics and allow you to converse with those of the highest intellect.

One young man left his little Welsh village in the early 1840s, heard the Apostles of God, and came into the kingdom of God on earth. He sailed with the Saints to America and drove a wagon west across the plains. He was in the next company after Brigham Young coming into this valley. His priesthood service included clearing and breaking ground for a farm.

He sold the farm for pennies on the dollar to go on a mission for the Lord in the deserts of what is now Nevada to take care of sheep. He was called from that to another mission across the ocean in the very village he had left in his poverty to follow the Lord.

Through it all, he found a way to learn with his priesthood brethren. Bold missionary that he was, he walked down the lane in Wales to the summer estate of a man who was four times the prime minister of England to offer him the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The great man let him into his mansion. He was a graduate of Eton College and of Oxford University. The missionary talked with him about the origins of man, the central role of Jesus Christ in the history of the world, and even the fate of nations.

At the end of their discussion, the host declined the offer to accept baptism. But as they parted, that leader of one of the great empires of the world asked the humble missionary, “Where did you get your education?” His answer: “In the priesthood of God.”

You may have thought at one time how much better your life would have been if only you had been admitted to study in some fine school. I pray that you will see the greatness of God’s love for you and of the opportunity He has given you to enter His priesthood school.

If you will be diligent and obedient in the priesthood, treasures of spiritual knowledge will be poured out upon you. You will grow in your power to resist evil and to proclaim the truth that leads to salvation. You will find joy in the happiness of those you lead toward exaltation. Your family will become a place of learning.

I love this story. Gospel learning is terrific and helps you grow in knowledge and wisdom in all things.

Sunday School Lesson - They Straightway Left their Nets

No posts last night because we were working on our lesson (I gave it but Jamie really helped me out a lot.).

A main point to grasp was what Apostles do, which made Jamie think of this video:

http://lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/unto-all-the-world/elder-bednar-ministry-of-an-apostle?lang=eng

So good. Well worth watching, particularly the first 4 minutes. He says that Apostles are missionaries who are principally supposed to minister to individuals and families. Interesting since they have such a platform to speak to hundreds and thousands at a time, but he said he's supposed to minister to individuals and families. In an interview with Sheri Dew on the Mormon Channel, he says that when he's sent to Stake Conferences it's actually to find someone that needs to speak to an Apostle, not to call a Stake President. He mentions that recently he was sent to a Stake Conference and ended up speaking with a young woman who really needed to speak with an apostle. I believe in this very much.

I'll never forget when President Monson and Elder Eyring came to regional conference in Yakima when I was a senior in high school. After the meeting, President Monson shook hands for as long as people wanted to speak with him. It took an hour at least. I watched all of it.

A similar story - I watched Elder Jay Jensen of the 70 after he spoke at BYU. He spoke with all who wanted to talk to him. One girl that came up was a Columbian. He had been a mission president in Columbia and was so excited to talk to her. It was just obvious. He clearly loved those people he served.

A similar story - a couple months before Elder Eyring became President Eyring he was going to travel to South Africa (I'm pretty sure that was the place.). There were visa problems (or something like that) but instead of staying home he asked Pres. Packer to reassign him to some place with a Stake Conference so he could maybe help them in some way. So, Moses Lake got to have a visiting Apostle instead of a "normal" Stake Conference. (My friend President Michie who was the 1st counselor told me about it.) He asked a lot of questions and listened mostly on the Saturday. He wanted to know as much as he could in order to help as much as possible on Sunday when he spoke with people both in person and over the pulpit. Very cool guy.

Addendum: President Michie introduced Elder Eyring to his daughter and called his daughter the wrong name. Elder Eyring then said something like, "don't worry too much about it Susette. My dad always called us by the wrong names. The only way we knew who he was talking to was by who he was looking at."

I believe the Apostles. I believe they know the Savior and that they follow him. D.C. 18: 27-28 explains how the first 12 Apostles in our dispensation were to be chosen.

27Yea, even twelve; and the ^aTwelve shall be my disciples, and they shall take upon them my name; and the Twelve are they who shall desire to take upon them my ^bname with full purpose of heart.

28And if they desire to take upon them my name with full purpose of heart, they are called to go into all the ^aworld to preach my ^bgospel unto ^cevery creature.

I admire them and want to be like them.

Last story - I once heard Pres. Eyring speak to a group of about 200-300 people at a BYU conference. He spoke at the end and did not have a script in front of him. It was a fairly personal talk. In it, he explained a lot of different things and told several stories, but one thing I was impressed with was how clearly he could explain the gospel (there were non-members there). He explained how we're "Millenialists" and believe peace on earth would come and that the lion would lay down with the lamb and all things would be perfect for a thousand years and tied that into his message in the most clear way I could have imagined. If someone asked you, "do you guys believe in the Rapture (the most common phrase Evangelical Christians use for the Second Coming time - I believe it's the most common anyway)?" what would you say? I know Pres. Eyring would have a great, clear answer. They're good missionaries. I really admire them.

Have a great day.

LaDon