Do Nice Things

Here is a cool video that just so happens to be in Thailand (yay Madison).  Let us try and do nice things.

Righteousness - what does that really mean, anyways?

FIRST OF ALL - some Bearrie BISNUS!

We have a Bearrie getting married this week!!! YEAH BOY!  Ol' Ceviche himself, tying the knot!  

All I have to say about that is - "A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush!" Right?!  

Oh man... I am pumped!  Get ready to dance your brains out in Jackson Hole!  By they way, we should start coordinating rides and what not... Zach, be sure to let us know where we are needed!  Give us some assignments - we are willing!

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With the passing of my father-in-law I have been thinking a lot on the question of "What is next?"  

What comes after this life?  What can we expect after we die?

I was reminded of a scripture that I was directed to when my Grandma Hofman died:

ALMA 40:12
And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

Obviously the big word here is RIGHTEOUS.  What does that mean, really?

So, I did what I do whenever I have a question - I Googled it.  I searched "What does righteous really mean LDS".  There were a few results; I clicked on the Encyclopedia of Mormonism (apparently it is in the BYU library... I had no idea of its existence before this search... isn't Google cool?  Thanks Franklin, for making Google.)

Here is what the Encyclopedia of Mormonism had to say on the matter:

Righteousness is ultimately synonymous with holiness or godliness. Christ himself is known as "the Righteous" (Moses 7:45, 47) and as "the Son of Righteousness" (3 Ne. 25:2). His "ways are righteousness forever" (2 Ne. 1:19).

The state of righteousness is available to mankind through the redemption of Christ as one is born of God: "Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women…must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters" (Mosiah 27:25).

The terms "righteous" and "righteousness" also apply to mortals who, though beset with weaknesses and frailties, are seeking to come unto Christ. In this sense, righteousness is not synonymous with perfection. It is a condition in which a person is moving toward the Lord, yearning for godliness, continuously repenting of sins, and striving honestly to know and love God and to follow the principles and ordinances of the gospel. Saints of God are urged to do "the works of righteousness" (D&C 59:23) and to "bring to pass much righteousness" (D&C 58:27).

Here is the link for anyone who wants to read the whole article (I really recommend it) - http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Righteousness

So, now my question was "Do I consider myself righteous?"

This question, I didn't Google.  I just thought about it a little. 

And so far, I have come to the conclusion, that, I think most people are trying to be righteous.  I think most people WANT to be good... they WANT to be the best version of themselves that they can.  I think most people "strive for godliness"... maybe they don't call it "godliness", but we are all trying to get better, right?  And therefore, I believe that the number of people that end up in the "righteous/state of happiness" crowd after this life, is larger than we tend to think.  I know that God's ultimate talent is "seeing the good in us".  He sees good in us even when we may not see it ourselves.  He loves us.  He will do ANYTHING for us.

Alone, I fall short of righteousness... WAY short.  It's not even funny to think about.  But I KNOW that with the Savior, I can make it.  I can clear that mark.  I will keep trying.  I will keep doing my best.  And I will keep repenting when I need to.

I love you all... my righteous brothers.

There Is No Condemnation To Them Which Are In Christ Jesus

So, for a while now, whenever I am in the car I tune the radio to 95.3 - the preacher radio.  Jay and I were driving back from Payson tonight, and a really cool story came on.  And I know there is NO WAY, that I will be able to relay the story as well as this preacher did.  Man, he was good.  But I will do my best to communicate the important parts.

This pastor's friend told him about a dream that he had recently:

In the dream, this guy was in a LONG line of people.  I mean, we are talking hundreds of thousands... maybe millions!  He had this placard around his neck that had all of the sins that he had ever committed in his life written on it.  Every bad thought, every bad thing, every bad word he ever said... it was ALL there.  And as he got closer to the end of the line, he could see that there was an angel that was removing the placard from around the persons neck, and then reading it for ALL OF HEAVEN to hear!!!  

The guy started to panic.  I mean, his grandma was over there... his mom was just behind him... and they were all going to hear all of the terrible things he had done!  He kept getting closer and closer to the front of the line.

And then, Jesus came up from behind him.  Jesus grabbed his placard and started reading it.  He wanted to take it back and said, "Oh please, don't read that.  Your eyes are too pure to read these things I have done."  Jesus just pushed his hand away and kept reading.  And then, after He read them all, He took the placard that hung around His neck, and put it on the man; he took the man's sin covered placard and hung it on his own neck.

As the man approached the angel, he looked up and saw that God the Father was there next to the angel as well.  When it was his turn, God said to the angel, "take his placard and read it for everyone to hear."  When the angel removed his placard he declared, "He is clean!  He has NO SIN!"

This dream provides a really cool principle that is highlighted in Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

We can all be clean.  We can all rest assured that with Jesus, when it is our turn to stand in front of God and all of Heaven, we can be clean.

I know this is true.  I know that the Atonement is real and I am SO grateful for it.

A bit on Prayer - with D. Todd

What up, LADIES?

So - I will make this quick... Jay and I have already passed this around to each other, but I figured the rest of the Bearrie Brotherhood could benefit as well.

I am assuming that you guys get the emails from lds.org.  IF NOT, you should sign up for sure.  It will bless your life.

If you do get them, you probably read the latest from D. Todd on prayer.  Here is the link -

https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/answers-to-four-questions-about-prayer?lang=eng&cid=email_inspiration-and-news_6-2015_header1

For those of you who want the power statements, I have copied what I felt to be the best part of each of the questions about prayer he included in his article.

How can I make daily prayer more meaningful?

"Everything we do ought to be done with an eye toward our Heavenly Father’s blessing and consecrating to our good all of our activities in a given day. So if we sense our need and think about it, prayer becomes more meaningful."
If we LIVE our prayers, it will be more meaningful.  As we go about the day, keep a dialog with God.  The little chats in your head don't have to be with just yourself... invite God.

How do you have the Spirit with you when you pray?

"If we’re just praying for what wewant and we don’t want to know His will, it won’t be the same feeling or have the same meaning."

If we don't really care what he thinks... why the heck do we ask??  If we are trying to pray so hard that we get the answer that we want, the spirit won't be there.  And it may end up with Him yielding or surrendering to us... kind of a "Okay, go for it - and you will see!"  I mean, look what happened to Martin Harris!  Poor guy.

How often should we pray?

"We may be thanking Him for blessings received, we may be repenting of a few things that happened that were not right, and then there are all the prayers in between. It just becomes part of a stream of prayers. It’s all part of a pattern, and that goes on day in and day out and week after week and through the years. That’s what it means to have your heart drawn out in prayer to Him."

Again - it is the CONSTANT prayer that God asks of us.  None of this "time of crisis" crap... can you imagine a friend coming to you only when he/she needed your help to bail them out of some trouble they caused for themselves?  That's a bad friend.  (That being said, don't be afraid to pray in the "Damn, we're in a tight spot!" moment.)  Pray ALWAYS.  (Refer to the Repent Fast post if the swearing bothers you)

What if we don’t get an answer to our prayers when we want it or need it?

"We ought to remember we don’t dictate to God the timing of His answers to us and the content of what comes in response to our prayers."

Wait your turn, boy!  We are not the ones to tell God when we should get answers.  We don't say when and where.  Beggars can't be choosers.  That being said, He could not want to help us more.  He is not "holding back answers" to cause us trouble, or pain, or heartache.  He, in His ultimate wisdom, will give us the answers when we are ready, and when we need them.  I know this is true.

All in all, I know that prayer is real.  I know that it is a way for us to communicate with God.  He is real.  He listens.  He is very much so aware of us.  I am always trying to work on how I communicate with Him.  And boy, am I grateful for apostles that help me understand how to do it better.  What a blessing.