We can bring the
greatest of all liberties into our individual lives by living true and correct
principles. This liberty comes to us as
we learn to live as though Jesus Christ were walking beside us. We gain this freedom as we invite the Holy
Ghost into our lives.
The liberty principle for
today is the last of a series of true principles suggested by Elder Richard G.
Scott in his book
21 Principles –
Divine Truths to Help You Live by the Spirit.
I will merely introduce the principle and suggest that you obtain Elder
Scott’s book in order to truly understand this principle. Elder Scott explained that principles “are
concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of
circumstances. A true principle makes
decisions clear even under the most confusing and challenging
circumstances.” You can see principle #1
“True Principles of Freedom” here.
Principle #21 is the simple
fact that we should put our trust in God and not judge ourselves because we
simply do not have all the facts yet.
Heavenly Father knows our potential; He knows what we can become with
His assistance. He knows our weaknesses
and strengths and how to turn our weaknesses into more strengths. He also knows what it is that He would have
us accomplish while we are on earth. He
knows the mission He gave to each of His children, and He will help us
accomplish it if we will trust Him and rely on His guidance.
Elder Scott stated, “Most of us
think we know our own limits, but much of what we `know’ isn’t knowledge at
all, but belief: erroneous,
self-limiting belief. When we live
righteously, study conscientiously, striving to do what is right because we
want to, because it is our personal choice to do so, we release the power of
the Lord in our lives. This exercise of
moral agency permits inspiration to flow into our minds and hearts, and we are
strengthened and supported from on high.
As members of the Church, we have the gift of the Holy Ghost, which can
give us a tremendous assist over others of equivalent background and native
capacity….
“With all my capacity I
encourage you to discover who you really are.
I invite you to look beyond the daily routine of life. I urge you to discern through the Spirit your
divinely given capacities. I exhort you
to prayerfully make worthy choices that will lead you to realize your full
potential. When you push against the
boundaries of experience into the twilight of the unknown, the Lord will
strengthen you. The beauty of your
eternal soul will begin to unfold….
“Your goals may be noble, but
you decide by the choices you make each day whether they will be realized or
not. A knowledge of truth is of little
value unless lived in full measure.
“The foundation of happiness is
to work hard and to obey willingly the principles of truth, confident that the
Lord will open doors of help when needed.
Our Father in Heaven will not violate His plan. He will note give eternal blessings to those
who want them but have not paid the price in repentance (when needed) and
consistent obedience. All of the richest
blessings Father in Heaven has in store are within the reach of every
individual who submits to the will of the Father and consistently lives His
commandments and receives all of the ordinances and covenants he or she is able
to have in this life” (pp. 99-102).
I know that Heavenly Father and
His Son, even Jesus Christ, stand ready to assist us as we struggle through
this life. They know that agency is
important to our growth. They will assist
us when we ask for help, but They will not disrespect our agency by forcing us
to do things. They know that our
decisions will determine our destinies, but They allow us to choose for
ourselves. I know beyond doubt that we
have a Heavenly Father who loves each one of us. I know that He knows each of us by name. I know that He desires each of us to return
to His presence. I know that He send the
Savior to prepare the way for us that we may all walk back into Their presence
and enjoy eternal life with Them.
No comments:
Post a Comment