An interesting thing, Choice.

Once again, I am studying in "Act In Doctrine" By Elder Bednar. And once again, my mind is blown. One key idea that Elder Bednar has always stressed is that we are "agents to act, rather than objects to be acted upon." As I was reading in his book, under Chapter 2, "Act In Doctrine and Moral Agency," some very distinct thoughts crossed by mind. I wrote them down in the margins of the book, and it was amazing how they built on each other as I continued reading.

Speaking of Moral Agency, Elder Bednar gives a quote from President Boyd K. Packer.

"If you put all the doctrines of the Church in boxes and laid them on a large floor 

and asked me to assemble them in some order, I would sort through the boxes

and find One. It would be a heavy one, and it would say "Agency, Freedom, Agency." I would put that down first, and everything else we believe in would be stacked in proper order

On top of that." 

(Mine Errand from the Lord, 176)

Elder Bednar then goes on to say, "Thus, Agency is the Fundamental Foundation upon which all other gospel doctrines and principles rest." (Act in Doctrine, 37)

Agency...as the Foundation.

Choice...as the Foundation.

I continued reading. He shares scriptures from Abraham 3:24-28 about the Pre-Mortal council in Heaven. 

"And we will prove them now herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God has command them;

And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads forever and ever."

I began to see some connections here. Estates...have Foundations. And if Agency and Choice are our Foundations, then our first estate here could be compared to a Type of Choice. A good one? And our second estate, an even better one? "Good choices will be 'added upon' with blessings upon our heads." 

Our first estate, our first true choice, was to choose God. Choose God when we Knew Him. Choose God when we lived in His presence. Choose God when we loved Him. It was an obvious and easy choice for most. Those souls who kept their first estate were given the opportunity to go down to Earth.

On earth, they would be made to forget about God. Then prompted to find him Again. This Second estate, this second choice was to be made outside of His presence. Outside of the reality that He really existed. It would be a hard choice to make. A scary one. On hard days, in the midst of trials and temptations, they'd begin to wonder if He really was there. Sometimes they'd get Angry at Him. Curse His name and want to deny His existence. How to believe in something they could not see, they would question. In the midst of all these trials and torments, it would be hard for them. But the choice would be theirs to make.

Moving on.

God asks, "Whom Shall I send?" Two answers, and He answers, "I will send the first."

"And the second was Angry, and Kept not his first estate, 

and, at that day, many followed after him."

 Satan gave up Choice. Good Choices. And by so doing, (if you'll follow an analogy), became a Tool, of Temptation and Trials. Became the Opposition to all things Good. Likewise, when we Choose Sin...We give up Choice. And become a Tool...to temptations and trials. Objects that are acted upon, rather than agents to act. 

"...That Satan who is the same which was from the beginning,

and He came before me, saying--Behold, here I am, send me, I will be thy son, 

And I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost,

and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor."

(Moses 4:1)

Agency is an eternal principle. When the Father presented the Plan to His Children in the Pre-Mortal Council, Agency was present. Lucifer was the Son of Morning. One of God's own Children. But he rebelled against his Father.  Following Satan's plan, we would have become, likewise, tools...without Choice or Understanding. "The Adversary's desire was that we as learners would only be acted upon." (Act in Doctrine, 39). God gave us all Choice. He gave us all Agency. Satan made his Choice, and God, in His infinite wisdom, granted it:

 "Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me,
and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him....
I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea,
even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men,
 and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice"
 (Moses 4:3-4, emphasis added)

 Satan chose to rebel. And every choice comes with a consequence. Lucifer became Satan, the Devil. Ironically, Satan was a part of the Father's plan. Imagine how frustrating that must be for him now. No wonder he "seeks to make all men miserable like unto himself." 

Sometimes, Satan would be successful in making men miserable. So God, once again in His infinite wisdom, sent The First whose "willingness to submit to God's will and offer Himself as the infinite and eternal atoning Sacrifice preserved moral agency in Mortality for Heavenly Father's spirit children. Thus, as sons and daughters of God we are agents with the inherent capacity to act and to learn, and not objects primarily are acted upon," (Act In Doctrine, 38)

 When we sin, we give up choice. But the Savior and His atonement provide opportunity to for us to repent, and choose God, once again.The Adversary may try to make us miserable, and think that we cannot choose to change or become better, but all we need now is to remember that...misery is a choice. 

"Everything can be taken from a man, 

but one thing: 

The last of all Human Freedoms--to choose one's Attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

(Man's Search for Meaning, 65-67)

We may not get to choose what happens to us, what type of tests or trials or temptations are thrown our way. We don't even get to choose how other people react to us. But one thing we can choose, is how We react.

 Let's RECAP here:

• We are here on Earth! We Chose God! Our first true choice, our First Estate, is built on the Foundation of Agency. We Choose Choice!
• We didn't choose Satan and therefore get to Continue choosing!
•  Earth life is Hard! Satan, the tool of trials and temptations, is working to make men miserable, and sometimes he's successful... :( 
• God provided us a better option than misery!
• The Savior and His Atonement! 
• We can Choose to repent!! 
• It's called The Plan of Happiness for a reason...
• We can Choose to be Happy!! 

• As we choose to listen, learn, and do these things, We are Choosing God--Again!

 We chose God once before. Let us all choose Him again! And in keeping our "Second Estate [we] shall have glory added upon [our heads] forever and ever." What an amazing reminder of God's love for us!

 

 

xoxoxo

Hermanita Holly Howell 

We are DIRT...

Literally. We are Dirt. 

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground..." 

(Gen. 2:7) 

" ...for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. " 

(Gen 3:19)  

 

In my Mission Prep Class today, we talked about Dirt.
A brother in my ward shared a thought.

His next door neighbors have an amazing Garden. The dirt, or shall we say, soil, is moist and rich.

His soil, on the other hand, is rocky. Choppy. Rough. Couldn't grow a thing in it even if He wanted to.

Right next door.

Almost the same patch of earth, if you think about it.

Yet one is smooth, and the other is rocky.

We are Dirt. 

We are all made out of the same thing. Dirt. Dust. Soil.

Yet some soil is rocky. Some soil is smooth.

But...Dirt we are. Each of us start out on ground level (pun not intended... well ok--a little intended) We are made of the same stuff. And because of that, we all have the equal potential to become something more!

We are, each of us, a dirty, lowly patch of earth. And sometimes times, while this analogy is figurative, we probably really do feel that way.

Lucky for us, the Gardener has had lots of practice in making rough places become smooth.

The neighbor's garden in the story was made beautiful because they put the hard, back-breaking effort into working out the kinks. Battering down those boulders. Stooping down and scattering the unnecessary stones. It wasn't perfect to begin with. There wasn't a magic fairy, Cinderella and a pumpkin coach-type wand that fixed all their harvesting problems. It took TIME. And lots of PRESSURE.

But little by little, their garden...their soil...their dirt...became Beautiful...Rich...Pure...Fruitful...

God does with us what those neighbors did with their garden. All of our stones and our thorns (Matthew 13) He makes into Pearls and Diamonds. Fruit and Flowers. Imagine the garden of Eden. I am going to just go right out and say that God's got good gardening skills. 

So...

We are Dirt.

And you'd better believe that by the time we let God get through with us, we're going to be the best darn dirt there is!!

But, you may ask, what can Dirt do? Matthew 13 talks about the Parable of the Seeds. Some fell by the Wayside. Others were lost among the Stones. Many were stuck between the brambles and Thorns. And then there was the Good Soil.

Let us be the Good Soil. Fruitful. Happy. Growing and sharing our testimony with others. Teaching the Gospel. Holding onto the beautiful seeds of truth that find their way into our hearts and never letting go.

Good Soil works. Yes. Christ and His ever infinite atonement are working to help us at move out those Stones and those Thorns.

But we--The Good Soil--We have to stir up a little dust devils every now and again.We've got to get our own hands dirty.

Help those Wayside seeds find a good patch of ground.

Stir up those seeds among the Stones and help them find a sure place.

Dislodge from the Thorns those seeds that are sacred and sink them deep into the soil.

We, all of us, are Dirt. And as Dirt, as the good soil that God is making us into...we have what it takes to raise, nurture and nourish seeds. We can grow fruit...flowers...and then, in turn, share the fruits of our labors, our harvests, with those who don't yet have that good soil. Those that don't know God yet. Those that know of Him, but don't truly Know Him. Even those that love Him for a season, when everything is going right a good, but forget Him, or blame Him when life is a little too dusty.

Those are they who need the Good Soil. Those are they that need You.
 
So, walk those dusty streets and get a little muddy, too. Just remember, You're out there doing the Best that Dirt can Do.

xoxoxo
Hermanita Holly Howell

Sometimes...I feel inadequate.

Sometimes...

I feel inadequate...

Both verbally and vocally.

I have difficulty expressing myself in the way I want to. I worry that my inability to do such limits others from finding out who I really am...

But...

As I think this, I think about my purpose as a missionary.

"To Invite others to Come Unto Christ..."

The purpose is not for them to know me!

But, to know HIM. 

Who He really is.

And, in reality, as they come to know me, I hope they will already have a glimpse into who He is, as I represent Him.

Even still, as they come to know Him, I hope they will get a glimpse at who I am. They will learn of His love, and His compassion. They will learn that He knows them. Perfectly. And as such, they will know that He knows me. Perfectly. And loves me as I am.

So...What need have I...to feel inadequate? 

Christ is the Lord. It is He who I represent. And it is He who loves without thought of fault. I hope that as I open my mouth to speak of Him, words will flow. That hearts will be touched. And that mine will be one of them. 

"Let the Holy Spirit guide. 

Let His whispers govern truth.

He will testify of Christ.

Light our minds with Heaven's View."

 Con muchas amor,

Hermanita Holly Howell

He understood temptation PERFECTLY

Reading in "Act in Doctrine" by Elder David A. Bednar, I was learning about the Character of Christ. And I stumbled across a paragraph that blew my mind. So powerful!!

"Someone has said only those who resist temptation 

really understand the Power of Temptation. 

Because Jesus resisted it perfectly, 

He understood it Perfectly: hence, He can Help Us!

("Act In Doctrine," Pg 8) 

I'd never fully comprehended that aspect of the Atonement before--that Christ experienced everything we had, that the only perfect person to ever walk the earth would actually understand or even been able to experience temptation. (Let's be honest, there is soooo much we still can learn about the Atonement! Here's proof!)

And Because He understands temptation, only He can help us resist it. He sees the pleasures of temptation. He sees why it's desirable. He sees that we want it. Maybe even sometimes why we think we need it. 

But He also sees the pain. The aftermath of a bad choice. The heartbreak. The sorrow that comes with sin. 

Even still, He is able to see the infinite beauty of the alternative--His Father's Plan!

When Satan tempted the Savior, I think we often like to think that it wasn't even a temptation to Him--that He was like:

"Psh--Satan, I don't need food, or angels to save me, 

or all the shiny palaces or kingdoms of the world you're offering. 

Worlds without number I have created, remember? Get thee Hence."

But...

Really, I want now to believe that it was. That is was a temptation.That the Christ was tempted. Not prove Him as some mere-mortal with frailties and as a maker of mistakes. But as a real, personal Savior who was able to Resist...

By so doing, proving to me that I can, with His help, do the same!

"Therefore, Character is demonstrated 

by looking, turning, and reaching outward when the 

instinctive reponse of the Natural Man (Mosiah 3:19) 

in each of us is to turn inward and be self absorbed."

("Act in Doctrine," Pg 8)

Put off the Natural Man! Christ, the only perfect person, was still tempted! He chose His Father, over ALL things. And because He did, so can we! The Atonement is a Beautiful Thing!

Con amor,

Hermanita Holly Howell

#thestruggleisreal, but so is Christ!

Dealing with Depression and Anxiety on your mission

Dealing with Distractions: crushes on Elders, etc... 

Preaching Repentance??

I started Institute today! It's such a blessing to go hear the word of the Lord among people who believe and cherish in the same things I do!
Obviously, I'm taking a Mission Prep Class. And it is going to be great, I can already tell.

Today in class, in fact, I had this little moment of revelation.

My teacher asked, "If there was one word that would describe the message of the gospel, What would it be?" He continued, "It would be REPENTANCE, wouldn't it?"

Instinctively, I imagined a man up on a soap box in the middle of a street holding a bible and yelling, "Repent Ye, Repent Ye, or you will be DAMNED!" *It's scriptural, right? But yes, harsh*
That's what came to mind, and I sort of cringed at the thought. That's not what I'm wanting to do as a missionary! But as I thought about it some more, I realized this.

Sure, we will be damned if we don't repent. Blunt.

But... The beauty of our message is that we CAN repent!  Our Heavenly Father has given us every opportunity to return back to Him, He loves us that much!! Isn't it beautiful? God doesn't want us to be damned. He didn't create us for that purpose. He created us to be entirely opposite! To be Sanctified! Glorified! To become like Him! To come back to Him!

The Beauty of our Message is that We Can Repent! And we Get to do it, every single day! Over and over and over again! And each time, we can do better than we did the time before! And How wonderful is the Sacrament?! And Baptism?! Answer: SO WONDERFUL!!! The Repentance Process is gloriously a Life-Long Process, and not a one time event!

Every Day is a New Opportunity to Become who He wants Us to Become! And with His help, through repentance, we are becoming Glorious!

So, go ahead!

"[Cry] Repentance unto this people!"

 Because it is a beautiful thing, and you want them to have it too! You're going to love the people you teach so much that your heart with break and grow in ways you didn't know possible! They aren't repenting to you! Heavens know you couldn't possible take on all of their sins like Christ could. They are repenting to God and His Christ! How marvelous an opportunity to share with them! How many times in the scriptures does it say "Son, thy Sins be Forgiven thee"? Wouldn't you want EVERYONE to have that message! The answer is Yes! Because you LOVE with every fiber of your being to hear that! I know for a fact that I do!!

Repenting daily, and Loving it,
Hermanita Holly Howell


P.S.
I made these Quote Collages (Not the individual quotes themselves. Credit to the gems that did!) I am going to take them on my mission as a little quote book. I made like 50 pages so... I'm willing to share!

Perfection

With less than 60 days left until my mission, I "figured" that I should start to form a better habit of studying my scriptures. You know, mission worthy with scripture journal and all. (Typically, I just read my scriptures at night in bed before I turn off the light. Both in English and in Spanish. Not too shabby, but...) And so, I began tonight. Since Preach My Gospel is EVERYTHING in the mission, I decided to start there. I was given journals for Christmas and I started to use one of them. I outlined on a separate piece of paper how I wanted to organize my scripture journal, then turned to Chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel: Study and Teach. The first heading was: God is Our Loving Heavenly Father. (Great one to start off on, FYI)
I wrote out a simple, brief summary of what that meant to me, then I search the scriptures listed under the "Scripture Study" section, highlighted in blue. I wrote a few of them out in my Journal just to start forming a memory of them.

When I got to 3 Nephi 12:48, I goofed when I started writing it out. "Be ye therefore perfect..." That's not what it said. So I looked at it again and scribbled it out in my journal. Looking over it again the second time gave me knew inspiration:

A brief background on the Chapter 12 of 3rd Nephi--This is when Christ is with the Nephites and He is teaching them the same things that He taught the people at the Sermon on the Mount. (Wonderful Chapter, also FYI)
This is the Scripture:

48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

                                    

Christ says, "I would..." 

I have probably read this countless times before and probably overlooked it as I almost did today. "I would..." I looked up "Would" in the dictionary just for a clearer understanding. Wish. Desire. Want. 

Christs wants us to be be perfect! 

Because...

He desires that we become like HIM and His FATHER!!

Yes. We are, in other scriptures, commanded to be perfect! And that of course seems like an impossible task! We see that, and ask ourselves, "How can we ever hope to achieve that?!" 

Here's another question to ask though: "Would God ever really give us an Impossible task?" An impossible commandment? Command us to do something if He knew we could never accomplish it? NO! "God is Our Loving Heavenly Father!" He gave us the very best tool we could ever need. 

He gave...His only begotten son... Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christ gave His Life for us. Atoned for Our SINS. All of our sad, miserable, lonely, heart wrenching moments of pain---He took them away! And Because of that, through Him, We CAN be PERFECT. And He wants us to know that! To Believe that, and Trust in Him and His atonement.

I'm always so hard on myself, but that's because I'm trying to become perfect, by myself! What a ridiculous endeavor?! He has shown us the way back to our Father and He willing chose to walk that path with us.  

I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ love me enough to want me to become like them. And even more grateful am I that they are willing and wanting to help me in that eternal progress.

Striving for Perfection,
Hermanita Holly Howell

My Thoughts on God's Temple

Gorgeous Pictures of the Temple!

I was able to go through the House of the Lord yesterday, January 3, 2015. It was a special day spent with my family. I wrote my feelings before and after going through the temple.

BEFORE
I am learning the great importance of having a missionary go through the temple before they leave on their missions. Going through the temple, for a part of it, is all about commitments. As missionaries, we will commit people to be baptized. I always thought this to be a scary prospect. And I wondered how I would react had I not already been a member and was being taught by the missionaries. Now, I am beginning to understand.

Temples covenants are a big commitment. It is not merely a "go for a day and return to life the way it was" mini vacation in a pretty, castle-like building. It is a way of life. A new, higher way of life. One that you cannot go back from. But, after you know and understand and learn of the blessings, do you really want to go back? I think not.

Sometimes, I think of those worldly or carnal desires that I will supposedly be "missing out on" by choosing this life. And I can't even begin to see how they can compare, and I don't even fully understand the blessings I am to receive.

"Look unto me in every though; doubt not, fear not."

Doctrine and Covenants 6:36

This scripture is appropriate for today's feelings. As is this one:

"...And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things."

1 Nephi 16:29

The temple, I am told, is symbolic. By small and simple symbols, great blessings are brought to pass. So, I choose this life. A life more fully lead by a God who knows and loves me. Doubt not. Fear not. But be BELIEVING.

AFTER

My thoughts on God's Temple is that it is God's, and how we worship therein is different then how we would worship in Christ's Church.. The way of worship is different because of the way of things. God and Jesus are two separate beings and are worshiped in different ways. While they are of the same purpose, God is Christ's father, and therefore deserves a higher respect and form of worship. How we worship God and Christ pertains to things temporal and spiritual.

The Three Kingdoms of Glory, talked about a lot in the temple, is the way that I have begun to best understand the worship, or patterns of worship within the temple.

People of the world--The Telestial-- know no form of worship. That which they do know is turned toward nature or some unseen power they can sense, but cannot understand. (D&C 76: 97-101)

The People of the Church--The Terrestrial--know the worship of Christ. The Sacrament, The Atonement. Baptism for the Remission of Sins. Prayer to a real, definite being who they love and cherish: Christ, their brother, their Savior, their friend. (D&C 76:76-77. Author's Note: Technically those belonging to Christ's Church are part of the Celestial Kingdom :) Please, don't consider what is written here on this blog as doctrine! It's just food for thought ;) Bon Appetite!)

Then there are those who are worthy to enter the temple. Their testimonies are founded on Christ, and they are ready to further that testimony with the addition of learning more about their God, their Father. These are the Celestial. Worship will not be the same as those of the Telestial or the Terrestrial, but do of course build off of the Terestrial. It is not like Church, because, because of the nature--the Celestial nature--it cannot be like Church. When we are given more, more is required of us. (D&C 76: 62-70)

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. "

John 14:27

Go to the temple! And go often! If you're not ready, get ready! There is so much to learn! It is different, but it supposed to be! It's not a secret, it's just sacred! Choose this life! So many blessings are in-store for you! This is God's House. 

Love,

Hermanita Holly Howell