More Than a Mighty Change of Hair...Part Two!!!

I felt like this little truck! Crushed!

Day two, three, four, five etc. were so lame for me after that incredible experience that fateful November 14. What in the world could happen you might ask? The anguish and pain I described in that last post was spiritual. Then I got hit with something I didn't really expect. I honestly thought that all of my problems would be over from the "you'll be OK" feeling I got after I had prayed. But pow!!! God saw to it that I would be humbled even more. Physically, I was crushed! I got sicker than I have ever been in my life. I started to experience physical pain that nearly destroyed me. I had experienced my spiritual rock bottom, but then I was blessed (yes, it was a blessing) with the opportunity to hit a physical rock bottom as well.

To summarize how I felt at this point in my journey, let's go to the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. In  the opening chapter, Moses describes exactly how I felt in verses 9-10.

"... and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth. And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing..."

I felt that I had been left to myself spiritually through my bad choices, but that I now needed to be left to myself as much as I could take. I was left unto myself, and all my physical strength left me. I felt near to death, and it scared me. I continued to pray with greater fervor than ever before. I would spend hours on end praying and pleading in my heart. It was so difficult to get through, but eventually I started to feel better.

Not an actual pic of me...but you get it!

This event humbled me so much, that I was becoming increasingly aware of the Spirit of God wanting to communicate with me. I found in those humble days that I was completely incapable of saving myself. This led to one of the most incredible experiences of my life; a night when I was literally surrounded by angels.

Tune in soon to read the end of this series. I promise, it's good. In the meantime, what blessings do we receive from humility?

Plagiarism Is My Friend

(FYI:I've copied and pasted this from lds.org)

In keeping with the long-established pattern of the Lord, several key events had to occur for His Church to be restored:

The first occurred in 1820, when, through the First Vision, the heavens were opened and Joseph Smith learned the true nature of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and received instruction from Them.

Second was the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, providing a second witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ and confirming that Joseph Smith was a prophet.

Finally, the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood provided the authority to administer the ordinances necessary for salvation.

“We declare to the world that the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth.”

—Elder L. Tom Perry

Confuzzled & Don't Know What To Do? Well.......

What do I do?

Where do I run?

Why am I fearful?

Is this the one?

Why would He lead me here?

Where do I turn?

What is the truth,

For which I yearn?

Who has the answer?

He, only one.

But can I trust Him?

Follow His Son?

 He will answer.

He does care.

How can I know it?

One simple prayer.



 

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.''-Moroni 10:4-5

"Don't let this man control you!"

A few weeks ago, as my missionary companion and I were using the computers at a local college campus, we had a run in with a fiery fellow named Sean. He came up to Elder Krambeck and started to rant about all the 'signs of the times' and went off on various conspiracy theories. Elder Krambeck was in a pickle, so I interjected by simply asking, "What's up?" Sean looked at me with blazing eyes and said to Elder Krambeck with his voice a-booming, "Don't let this man control you!" It was quite an amusing experience.

It has got me thinking though. I for one have questioned the faith I was born into for a very long time. I saw the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and all church's for that matter, as a ploy for control and power. All those 'thou shalt nots' seemed to me a mere stratagem for someone to gain supremacy; not a way to inner peace. I looked at the church's of the earth and thought to myself, "Nu uh. You ain't gonna fool me. I won't follow blindly and be controlled." Luckily, Heavenly Father fulfilled His promise that "the haughty shall be humbled" (2 Nephi 20:33). And oh boy was I humbled!

After years of doubting and nay saying, my new found compelled humility led me to start putting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the test. I started praying and doing some of the 'thou shalts'. I learned from experience that  the Lord doesn't want to control us through obedience, but He wants to bless us for it. He promises that if we are obedient to Him that He will give us blessings in our lives. In fact, He is bound to bless us if we are obedient (Doc. & Cov. 130:20).

We don't however, have to follow thoughtlessly. We as members of His church have the principle of Intelligent Obedience. That is, we don't have to follow Him blindly or out of fear of punishment. He wants us to be obedient of our own free will. We need to gain our own witness, or belief, that the commandments really come from Him and help us live happier lives. To obtain this witness, we have to use faith. We have to have a real desire, and we have to be willing to do the work necessary to know these things.

We can know for ourselves that the commandments are there to make us free from the consequences of sin, not just imperious rules from an abstract God. We can pray and " ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true" and He will answer us and tell us. When we know that they are true, we will want to live them for the rest of our lives. The commandments will be a lighthouse as we make our way across the stormy seas of life. We will grow stronger, feel greater peace, and increase in spirituality. We will show our true love and devotion for Jesus Christ as we keep His commandments (John 14:15).

But don't take my word for it....put it to the test!

So, your a missionary. What's that like?

So......My name is Elder Ika. I am a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have been given the opportunity to use facebook and blogger to help me keep in touch with the people I have met.

For two years I serve away from my home sharing the things I know to be true with the great people in Montana and Wyoming. I have been serving now for about 9 months and have loved it. It's the most fun I have ever had! Something about getting out and serving others really brings out the fun in life.

That's all for now. More will come soon.