Let's pull Weeds!!

Let's pull weeds everybody! It's so fun!
Yeah I know.. you're thinking: this guy is crazy.

No one I have ever met likes pulling weeds and few people even want to. When we get slack, they show up in the front yard. Some say it's impossible to keep them from coming. Others say it should just be ignored. Now I want to propose something to you.

Weeds are always showing up in life. Pulling weeds can be a draining process, taking lots of time and effort.  As we weed, sometimes we try to pull it all the way but miss a part of the root. This can result in the weed coming back later. Smaller weeds when ignored can grow to be bigger weeds, making them much harder to remove. Not even mentioning allergies, back pain, and itchiness, weeding is tough work. Is it really worth it in the end?

Let us compare weeds to sin.

We all sin. Sin makes us unclean, and unhappy. For "wickedness never was happiness" as it states in Alma 41:10. These sins are sometimes large and sometimes small. When we want to get rid of sin, we repent. This process can seem very painful and drawn out, but through Christ's power and mercy we can be forgiven of our sins. He will make our joy as exceeding as was our pain.

Come unto Christ, and He will help you be clean and free from sin once again. He will heal all the wrongs that were done by sin and make you whole.

The Lord has said:

D&C 58: 42 Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven,

and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

43 By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold,

he will confess them and forsake them.

 

We confess to God our sins and we ask for his help to change ourselves. This change can be difficult when WE try to do everything. Christ is the one who can change us to make us not even want to sin.

Ezekiel 36: 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

 We can have that clean fresh start by turning to God and asking for the power of Christ's atonement to heal us and change us. Christ can be the miraculous power that gets rid of all your weeds in your life. Now do you like weeding? I sure do.

I testify that we can repent and be forgiven of all the sins we have committed. We Can and Will be changed by Christ's infinite love and mercy and He will forgive you.
Here is a song that my mom wrote about forgiveness. It is very beautiful and I recommend you listen to it. Click on the play button on the bottom of your screen after getting to the site.
http://www.reverbnation.com/michelebaer#!/artist/artist_songs/797382

Have 1 Minute?

I would like you to ponder for just 1 minute on who the Savior Jesus Christ is to you. What do you cherish that he has accomplished? How can you learn from His example?

1 minute video:
http://easter.imamormon.org/

I know that Jesus Christ Lives. He has given His life for us so that we can overcome sin and death through the atonement. I rejoice in his teachings and strive to follow His example. I know great joy comes as we turn to Christ and follow Him and learn of Him.

If you have any questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and our beliefs
my companion and I can teach you about what we believe:
My profile on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/ElderBaer

Starving? Feast on Scripture.

Directions: Open daily. Add personal prayer.
Feast on the word.

"You don't have to read the scriptures...

  except on the days you eat"

This statement is very important. When we read the scriptures we are fed by the things we study. We gain strength to more easily overcome the natural man. Since we are spirits that are learning to control our bodies there are two sides to us. Our Spirit desires to be fed by the word of God and the uplifting things in life for the welfare of our soul. The spirit and the body are the soul of man. Our body is inclined to hunger for the carnal things of the world. One way to think of it is that our spirit is like a hand and our body is a glove. We control the body with our spirit as the hand controls the glove. The scriptures literally nourish our spirit to have greater power over the body. A children's song from our church goes "Scripture power keeps me safe from sin. Scripture power is the power to win. Scripture power! Every day I need the power that I get each time I read."
In the Book of Mormon in 2nd Nephi 32:3 it reads:
"Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." If we read the Scriptures, they will tell us all things what we should do.

The Book of Mormon and the Bible support eachother in their witness of Christ, they will guide us to God and give us power. We need to read the word of God every day. He has revealed His word to the prophets and the prophets have written it down in these sacred books called scriptures. If we heed Heavenly Father's words recorded, we will stay spiritually strong and safe. We will satisfy our hunger for righteousness and save our spirits from separation from God by sin. The Spirit will confirm the truths of the gospel to us. May we all feast on these precious gems, the Scriptures. I know these things are true and I say them in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Prayer - part 2

In Alma 34:17-27, Amulek teaches us that we can repent through prayer and that we can pray many times a day over our jobs, our family, and against the power of Satan. He also said that we must pour out our souls to God in prayer "in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness."

I want to share a personal experience that I had when I was home and was years away from being at this point in my life. For a while in my life, I was feeling pretty empty and doing many things that teenagers do when they feel empty or unloved. I tried to distract myself, with petty things like "Facebook" and funny "Youtube" videos. They only made it worse. I didn't know what it was that I needed, I just knew I was incomplete in some way.
     After some reflection I decided to pray. This was one of the few times in my life I prayed out loud. I poured my heart out to God, and asked him many things troubling me. One of the things I asked him was if He really loved me. I can tell you that nothing I have ever felt can compare to the love and peace that I received that night. I felt a confirmation from the Holy Ghost telling me that Heavenly Father loved me personally. I felt so complete, so full of joy.

I encourage you to pray to your Father and don't act like you're talking to the air. He is literally the father of your spirit, you can talk with him like a child to his earthly father. Tell him what troubles you and ask him things you need to know for yourself. I testify to you that the Father is there and He is listening. Galatians 5 tells us some ways we can feel the spirit.

 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Again I invite you to search your hearts and come unto Him who is your Father. If you are having problems like all the rest of us on this earth, come unto His loving arms and ask for the help that he is waiting to give you. Plead for guidance and protection. He will hear your prayer and answer in His own time, you must trust Him. I testify these things are true in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Prayer - part 1

Have you ever felt alone and neglected? Have you ever felt like something was missing in your life? Prayer can bring you closer to our Heavenly Father. You are never alone. Jesus Christ teaches us how we should pray to our Father in Heaven in Matthew 6 verses 5-8.

 5 ¶And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

So Jesus is saying we need to pray to God privately, we need to keep it sacred. He also says that we don't need to be eloquent to pray or be wordy, it should be simple and heartfelt. God already knows the thoughts of your heart, so just simply talk to him. When you pause and ponder you will find things that you need to express, what it is that you really want to say to Him.

 In 2 Nephi 32:8-9 we read that we must pray always. It also teaches that whenever we feel like we shouldn't pray, thats when Satan or the devil is trying to drag us down. That is when we need to pray most. In Doctrine and Covenants 88:63 it says

63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

God wants us to pray to Him, and will draw nearer to you as you seek Him through humble prayer. I testify that these things are true and they will bless us as we follow them.

Here is a short clip about prayer I'd like to share.

Next week comes Prayer - part 2