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 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

Know by Heart, Play by Ear.

In the world of music, the phrases "know by heart" and "play by ear" are pretty peculiar. I would like to offer you some insight on these phrases, being a singer and a piano player myself.

To Know by Heart is to know something perfectly or to have memorized something perfectly.

To say "I know it by heart" usually means it's been way more than memorized, it's been internalized. "This song is personal to me," the performer is saying, "I have no problem recalling it. I know it." A performer has probably toiled countless hours practicing and perfecting this song to play and express it the best he can.

We can compare this to getting a testimony of The Book of Mormon. When we read the Book of Mormon with an open heart we can gain knowlege that is ingrained in us.

2 Nephi 33:1 "And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men."

The Holy Ghost carries the truth of what we read to our heart. The prophets in the Book of Mormon wrote such things when they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, just as prophets of old in the Bible. So the Holy Ghost verifies the words they speak to be true. Notice that the Holy Ghost does not carry it into our heart but unto our heart. This takes us to the next phrase.

To Play by Ear is to try to learn a song by listening to the song itself and not having any sheet music to use.

You really have to listen closely to a song and to its very intricate details in order to get the exact same sound. The only way you can get a song to the express uniqueness by which it was written is to find the right combinations of chords and melody. As we listen very closely to the Holy Ghost we can know if the Book of Mormon is true or not. All we need to do is listen and turn down the noise of life so we can actually hear the Holy Ghost testify to our hearts of truth.

1st Kings 19:  The Lord speaks to Elijah in a still, small voice.
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."

Moroni 10:3-5
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

I encourage you to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder the message it contains. If you read it enough and are prayerful in understanding the teachings, you will come to know for yourself that they testify of Jesus Christ. If you listen to the feelings in your heart and the impressions on your mind and perhaps  "read by ear", then you can "know by heart" because the Holy Ghost testified to you the truth.
The Book of Mormon is the Keystone of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true restored church of Jesus Christ with all my heart and soul. If you want to know for yourself, I exhort you to read The Book of Mormon and ask God, with Faith in Christ if it is true believing that God will give you an answer. Be honest in your heart and believing, I believe you will get an answer. God loves all his children and wants to show them the truth of all things if they just ask.