Come And See

LDS.org Bible Video Library

In this video the Savior talking with Nicodemus, one of the local teachers who is held at great respect. He talks of baptism, His mission as the Savior of the world, and the struggle that man faces between darkness and light.

But my favorite concept He teaches is that of coming to know spiritual things for ourselves.

He says,

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

All We Are Is Dust In The Wind... Dust, Wind, Dude!

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Alright, so that might need some additional scripture to clarify a little bit. Lets go to Corinthians!

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man recieveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

So the long and the short of it is this: How do we really come to understand how it feels like to get an answer to a prayer? Or how can we learn principles that are spiritual in nature so that they actually become a part of who we are?

Tell Me!!!!!

Experience it for yourself!
And then compare what you know with what comes your way.

Think for just a second or two... how would you tell me what salt tasted like?

...
..
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(still waiting)

You have tasted it thousands of times, you probably remember many times where too much of it ruined a perfectly good meal, and yet when it comes to describing it you simply must experience it to get it.

Same thing with the Spirit. When you pray or read the scriptures or go to church, really anything that invites the Holy Ghost to testify of truth, you have the opportunity to feel the spirit and know it for yourself. Many times it takes repeated attempts and then someone else perhaps pointing it out to you before you have your, "Oh, THAT'S what that is!" experience, but once it comes then you understand it.

Once you have that basic experience and understanding, then you can do as is said in Corinthians and "compare spiritual things with spiritual". It can be like the Savior expressed, feeling the wind and knowing the sound of it, but not knowing where it comes from or how you know it.

And in the same way, I can say as the Savior that, "I speak that I do know, and testify that I have seen". I have come to know that God is my loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is His son, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I know it by the power of the Holy Ghost. I tasted salt in a spiritual sense and I cannot quite explain how I know, but I do. By that same token, I have read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know if it is true and I have received a witness and confirmation from the Spirit of God that it is a true record of Gods dealings with the people who lived anciently on the American continent. I know that we have a prophet on the earth today, Thomas S. Monson, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the church that Jesus Christ has reestablished in these days prior to His second coming.

My commitment to you is to experience it to see for yourself if it's true. Read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. Here, I'll even give you a link where you can get a free copy, no obligation:
Free Book of Mormon!

It is an invitation to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in your heart the message it contains, and then to ask God if it is true. Those who do will receive a witness from the Spirit because God answers prayers. It is an invitation to feel the Spirit that comes with it and to know for yourself its worth.

Getting The Hang Of It

"And we would ask that Elder Donohue bear his testimony, and we'll proceed from that point."

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"Wait, what?"

:]

I bear my testimony, those things I believe and know of a spiritual nature, quite a bit as a missionary. Where before it may not have felt natural to just say whats on my mind or my heart, I now can't honestly see myself going a day without even the smallest declaration of the hope that is within me. (1 Peter 3:15)

That being said, doing so on the fly with just a tiny bit of heads up publicly in church is still not one of my strengths.

As I took the few minutes available to try to think about what I wanted to say and how I would say it, I started to psych myself out just a tiny bit... a precursor to being tongue tied. I do that quite a bit. But then a small voice somewhere within me came and said,

"Just be yourself."

Yes! That's the right answer, perfect! Thats what i'll do, i'll just be myself. Just be me...

...
Well, who the heck am I?!?

Thankfully the voice came again,

"You are a child of God."

And that felt like a pretty good place to start a testimony! And so I bore my testimony starting with that and for the most part feel that I said what I wanted to say and it all went peaches and cream.

The more I reflect on that statement, "You are a child of God", the more I sense a deeper understanding with it. It speaks volume of the relationship that we have with our Heavenly Father, it hints at our divine potential, and gives the feeling of peace and comfort knowing that there is someone who loves us and is looking out for us.

Elder L. Tom Perry once said,

"I can think of no greater teaching to our children than that of the power of prayer. We should do it by example, and take our children daily before the Lord and give them the peace and assurance that can come from knowing they are a child of our Father in Heaven."

Awwwwwww :)

I just want to +1 that statement by saying that I know of this truth because of prayer. No spiritual truth can be discovered and understood except through revelation, and the foundational and central truth of our God is always deepened through constant communication through prayer.

And that... is my testimony.

Learn A New Language?

I have a confession to make: I only know just enough French to pretend that I know what I am talking about. Put me with someone who actually does speak the lingo, and I get exposed pretty dang quickly. Sure, I can get the gist of what someone says, I can tell you a short story involving what a cat is doing, and I can even sing you a song or two... but no, I don't actually speak it.


Je Te Plumerai!

By that same token, does it make sense to say that prayer is a language all of its own?

Sure, maybe you can speak a few words of it to fool someone else into thinking you know what you're doing... Sure, perhaps you can understand a few of the concepts you receive back through your communication with God... But can you speak it fluently? Can you really carry on that conversation with God?

I have realized with my experience of trying to learn French, that you get pretty frustrated rather quickly if you don't pick it up as quickly as you would like. It takes practice and a desire to make it happen, and often times quite simply it takes TIME. If it doesn't work the first time, that doesn't mean you should drop it and give up trying to learn it anymore than it makes sense to give up learning a new language at first.

Don't Give Up!

As we take little steps to draw nigh unto God, He will draw nigh unto us. As we grow in our understanding and ability to communicate through the sacred language of prayer, He will help us as we progress and grow in our fluency. Slowly but surely, we can expand our understanding of all things. As we visit with God more and more, we can all experience that spiritually fulfilling peace that comes with Prayer.

I'm Looking at the Man in the Broken Glass

Ice on the road, a little too much speed, and two massive testaments to the American automobile industry... yes, these are the things that fender benders are made out of. Hopefully plenty of people have avoided wrecking a car in a collision of any kind, but chances are throughout a human lifespan everyone will get into a crash at some point. My record as a driver is personally clean, but one mission car I was connected with has already lost the driver side door (we loaned it to the Zone Leaders!) and I’ve been in the passenger seat during a wreck once upon a time.

Pity... That Car Was Just Days From Retirement

During that earliest debaggle, my sisters and I were just on our way to school on a bit of an icy day. The sun was out and there didn't seem to be any cause for concern, but as we came down a blind hill with a stop sign at the bottom we knew we were in trouble as we first started to slide.

The busy highway formed a T at the end and going even a couple of feet out into it would have put us in a VERY bad situation. Luckily, there was another car waiting at that stop sign at the bottom. With the choice being between going down the fifteen foot embankments on either side of the road, out into the highway, or smack dab into the back of the green Ford Explorer... well, let’s just say we took the fender-bender.

D'you Think That Ding Will Come Outta The Bumper?

 We all had been wearing our seatbelts so we were all fine and we later came to find that the Explorers bumper was a little messed up, but at the time the biggest thing that grabbed my attention was having a lapful of glass from the shattered window. I had expected sharp and dagger like shards to have been flying through the air, but instead all I found it to be was pebble like and not very sharp at all. If it had not been tempered glass though, that small fender-bender could have been dangerous. However, with a little bit of a different smelting method there was no need to worry.

The difference between the regular and tempered glass is in the way it is exposed to different temperatures. Tempered will go from one extreme to the other, allowing it to withstand more pressure and break into its signature pebble shape. Regular glass goes about the same but is allowed to cool on its own terms once it is heated and pressed. Once it breaks, it breaks into hazardous shards.


It Should Be A No-Brainer Which One You Want

We are all like glass in a way. All of us will eventually run into a "fender bender" in our life where things go bad in some way. Up till the point of these accidents though, we are faced with challenges that temper us and make us stronger. The greater variance of experiences we gain, going from one extreme to the other, the more we are able to withstand the pressures of life. We become, "tempered" through our trials which make us better suited to face the challenges of the next day. Even when something comes along that shatters us completely, we do no damage to those around us whom we love or to ourselves as we pick up the pieces and keep moving.

A simple quote comes to my mind in regards to life’s challenges and hardships:

The difference between stepping stones and stumbling blocks is how you use them.

What’s more, there are many references from God to his children throughout the Bible and Book of Mormon telling us trials will help us. My favorite comes in Doctrine and Covenants 90:24:

Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good.

I know that this is the case. That all these things that beat against us are just to help us in the long run. The experience to be able to say, "Yeah... I’ve had worse" alone is sometimes worth whatever pain, sorrow, heartache, damage, or trials that come our way. I know god doesn't give us more then we can handle, and I know that as we come unto him he will grant us additional strength to bear our burdens as often as we ask for it. One last quote I have for this thought is from President Gordon B. Hinckley:

If Life Gets Too Hard To Stand, Kneel

I strive to live by this every day and I know that I have seen it work in my life for my good. I know if we all do it ourselves, we will gain a knowledge and understanding of just how truthful these things are. Promise.

Building a Personal Relationship With Jesus Christ

Many people have taken years to develop a personally relationship with their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As people often find themselves at odds with the world and the struggles it presents, it's such a blessing to have the knowledge that there is one concrete thing in this world that all people, regardless of who they may be, can draw strength and peace from. All of us are loved so much and cared for so deeply as to remove any doubt or concern so long as we keep Jesus’ message with us in our minds and in their hearts.

Some are led to ask, "What can a personal relationship with Jesus do to actually help me?" which once answered and understood inevitably leads to the next question, "What can I do to strengthen that relationship?"

A relationship with Jesus Christ brings about the blessings of his gospel. Knowing him brings about thoughts and ideas that are uplifting, a peace of mind, courage to face opposition and struggles, and an assurance that there is one who is always there who knows you as an individual of great worth. Indeed, through our earnest effort in coming unto him whose arms are always outstretched, we can be numbered as his sheep and through him find exaltation and ever lasting life.
In the short term, we can find answers to life’s greatest questions and find personal guidance for everyday living as we build ourselves up and give unto him our time and diligence in doing those things that show a humble willingness to be perfected in him.

As all of us are different, we may not all necessarily come by our personal relationship with the Master in the same way, but there are several things that be done to increase faith and the blessings that come from our relationship. The best way to truly know of his gospel is to first of all know it. Through scripture study of the Bible and The Book of Mormon, testimony of prophets of old concerning the Redeemer of the world can add a witness that so many today have of the divinity and truthfulness of Christ and his gospel. The individual passages in which we read the direct words from Christ himself allow us gain a direct knowledge of the principles or actions that he admonishes all of us to live and strive for. As we live these principles, we can gain a personal testimony of the light that enters into our lives and as we do so come to know of him through his teachings.
Another way we gain a personal relationship is through prayer. In your own earthly family, those we love and build relationships with need and adore those times where all you do is talk. God and Jesus both are the same way. There is no better way to come unto Christ then through prayer, just as talking with your family is an important and enjoyable activity that brings you closer together. We are commanded to pray and pray often for our welfare, but also because of the great love that our Father and his Son have for us. I would encourage anyone looking to build their relationship with the Savior to pray earnestly for half an hour each night for the next week. It is amazing how after the initial five minutes where you run out of personal thoughts, the influence of the Holy Spirit can lead and guide your prayer as you ponder and talk on a one on one level with your Savior. As you do this, allow yourself to think of him and his loving concern for you and know that he hears you.

Though it’s never easy, it’s always well worth it. I have seen and felt that in my own life as I know each and every one of us can.

Links: What It Means to Know Christ - Ensign, September 7th, 1974