War

I have often thought about the war we are in, the war against evil, Satan, and sin. In this war are two factions: Christ’s or the devils. We are to pick which side we will align with by our actions, by so doing we also choose what our end stage is and show what our true goals are. One thing about this war that is very different from any other is that the victor has already been established and the leaders of both sides know this. Christ will win, there is no question, but Satan continues to try, why?

See this war is filled with countless battles and though the devil knows that he cannot win the war, it is his goal take as many battles as he can. And what do the battles look like, what are they? Well, they have 2 legs, 2 arms, and a torso, a head with 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 mouth, and 1 nose. The battles are each and every person on this beautiful planet. The adversary’s goal is to make all of us stumble, give up, give in, and/or quit! He desires to have us, to take us, and bind us down!  As we follow his ways we are damned, that is we stop progressing. He is miserable and wants to sink all to his level.

This war is tough and our battles are hard, but with a belief in God we can “with surety hope for a better world” (Ether 12:4). Christ will uplift and strengthen us as we do what is expected like keep the commandments always remember him and take his name upon us. That isn’t to say that He makes it easy but He helps us grow to overcome all in our path. “Your path may be thorny, but Jesus is nigh you; His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose.” (Hymn 266)



This is Fighting!



So what is you role in it? You must fight daily! We must “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men…, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end” (2 Nephi 31:20). Now as we do this there is a promise for which sounds pretty awesome. It is, “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12) Don’t give up, because I know that you can do it if you just go for it!

Time.

This past Sunday was my birthday,and it made me think of what I have done with the last 20 years of my life.  It makes me wonder what is time and what is it for? The dictionary defines time as: “a limited period during which an action, process, or condition exists or takes place”. This is one point I would like to discuss. As stated in Alma 12:24 this life is “a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God”. This is very important to remember but often times forgotten. It would be really handy if I could have this constantly in my mind reminding me of the purpose of all of the things that life can throw at us. I have made some obvious mistakes at different points in my life, of which I am not proud of. Of course I wouldn’t change them either, because as I relied on the Atonement I have changed for the better and have been forgiven. One can never be perfect but we can get closer as we progress through life.

                It’s also essential to remember the eternal perspective by remembering just how short this life is compared to our existence extending forever.  Our existence here is illustrated by this mental picture: take a string and extend it in both directions until you can’t see either end standing where you are tie one thread on the string. That is this life in the eternal comparison. Let’s not let the decisions of this tiny little moment ruin our hopes and dreams for the rest of forever. Although we sometimes have trials, the adversity and afflictions of this life “shall be but a small moment”, but if we “endure it well” (D&C 121:7-8) the rewards are out of this world, literally. I love this promise given by the lord. As we face life we can hold our heads high and keep our eyes pointed to God as the goal. Those that can keep this perspective tend to move past their trials with out getting hung up and blaming the one that could help them through those points in their lives, God. Let us move forward with faith and remember why we are here, and where we plan to go!