Scripture References for Sacrement Talk on Thanksgiving 11/24/2013

Thanks 153
Thanksgiving 54
Grateful 1
Gratitude - topical guide

Psalm 100

 1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

 2 Serve the Lord with ^agladness: come before his presence with ^bsinging.

 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath ^amade us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the ^bsheep of his pasture.

 4 Enter into his gates with ^athanksgiving, and into his ^bcourts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

 5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

3 Nephi 9
15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I ^acreated the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. ^bI am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

1 Corinthians 2
9 But as it is written, ^aEye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath ^bprepared for them that love him.

D&C 78

17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are ^alittle children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

 18 And ye cannot ^abear all things now; nevertheless, be of good ^bcheer, for I will ^clead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the ^driches of ^eeternity are yours.

 19 And he who receiveth all things with ^athankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an ^bhundred fold, yea, more.

John 14
 15 ¶If ye ^alove me, ^bkeep my ^ccommandments.

John 15

 10 If ye ^akeep my commandments, ye shall abide in my ^blove; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your ^ajoy might be full.

 12 This is my commandment, That ye ^alove one another, as I have ^bloved you.

Mosiah 2 16-26

 16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.

 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

 18 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to ^aserve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?

19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to ^athank your heavenly ^bKing!

 20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the ^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and ^cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should ^drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

 21 I say unto you that if ye should ^aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is ^bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you ^cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own ^dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ^ewhole souls yet ye would be ^funprofitable servants.

 22 And behold, all that he ^arequires of you is to ^bkeep his commandments; and he has ^cpromised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth ^dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ^ekeep his ^fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

 23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

 24 And secondly, he doth ^arequire that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately ^bbless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

 25 And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were ^acreated of the ^bdust of the earth; but behold, it ^cbelongeth to him who created you.

 26 And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am ^ano better than ye yourselves are; for I am also of the dust.

D&C Section 59

7 Thou shalt ^athank the Lord thy God in all things.

Speaks of sacrament service, and fasting.

14 Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer.

 15 And inasmuch as ye do these things with ^athanksgiving, with ^bcheerful ^chearts and countenances, not with ^dmuch ^elaughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance—

 16 Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the ^afulness of the earth is yours,

 20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to ^aexcess, neither by extortion.

 21 And in nothing doth man ^aoffend God, or against none is his ^bwrath ^ckindled, save those who ^dconfess not his hand in all things, and ^eobey not his commandments.

Alma 37

35 O, remember, my son, and ^alearn ^bwisdom in thy ^cyouth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

 36 Yea, and ^acry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy ^bdoings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy ^cthoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

 37 ^aCounsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for ^bgood; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the ^cmorning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Alma 34

38 That ye ^acontend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the ^bname of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and ^cworship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in ^dthanksgiving daily, for the many ^emercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife;

and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.

Everybody is taking to wife; my cousin Nathan (to Racheal), my sister LeAnna (to Rudy)... and me? I have 'known' I'd get married someday since I was 14 and received my Patriarchal Blessing. It was impressed upon me that the blessings therein are obtained "through your faithfulness", and I stand convicted of a real lack of faith.

Twenty-two years after receiving that blessing, and having a bright recollection of all my guilt, too often giving in to the temptation and the sins which so easily beset me, I let the Adversary convince me I was unworthy of those blessings (and that was true enough, he loves to lead off with a depressing truth... it makes the following lie so much easier to swallow) and that I never would be... and there's the lie... one of his favorites. He doesn't want me to repent, to pray, or to change... he wants me to stay miserable, just like him.

I don't want to be miserable anymore.

And there is so much more to this than my own personal worthiness. I had an Eternal Companion searching for me, I have children waiting to be born, a little brother (on his mission!) who prays that I will be married before him, and a Mother who prays for much the same thing... and an Elder Brother who wants me to be happy, and who is looking out for me constantly. Four years ago He prompted my cousin, a woman of great spiritual sensitivity and love for me, to reprove me with some sharpness because I was not even looking for my mate, and she was looking for me. I found out last night that at the same time I was being (lovingly) rebuked by the Lord, Mary had that same week (and only some 20 miles away) dumped her last boyfriend, and was so desperate to find me that she was considering moving to Salt Lake to try and find a good LDS man to date. I am eternally grateful that the length of the drive & move stayed her hand.

In my Blessing I am told that God will "bring to my presence" the woman who will be my wife... which, with a lot of help from my very great friends Jeff and Rebekah He did do. The same line instructs me to fast and to pray about the choice, which I am doing... I'm praying a lot these days. The paragraph regarding marriage in my Blessing ends with the instruction to "be patient and not to go faster than you are capable of going but to move carefully forward and upward..." Repentance is not a quick or easy process, and neither is changing your life to be worthy of the blessings of a Temple Marriage, but I will do it.

There are a lot of things Mary and I need to do to prepare, but I have faith that together we and the Lord can do all things. She waited alone and lonely for four years living in her parent's basement without giving up hope that she would one day find me. Those four years didn't have to happen. I was told by inspiration from God that she was looking, and that I needed to look for her... and I didn't. I felt the touch of the Holy Spirit when I heard it, and by the witness of The Spirit I knew it was true... and I kept on doing the same old things. And Mary has suffered much for my failure to answer God's call. She has forgiven me, and perhaps someday I will forgive myself.

I have promised her that unless she or God tells me otherwise, I will be Sealed to her in the temple for time and all eternity. I am praying about it constantly (as instructed in my Blessing... I'm not going to ignore God on this topic anymore!), but I don't expect either of them to tell me no. I am doing my very best to listen with an open heart and mind to the will of the Lord, I'm working hard to mean it when I say "not my will, but thine be done".  I have to get this right. I need to know God's will, and then do it. If I am not her Eternal Companion I will be devastated, but I will not act against the will of God in this most important of all decisions.

I have a new (and sometimes terrifying) purpose in life: to do what is right for Mary.

I will not fail her again.

"And it came to pass that on the morrow,

after we had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we did go down into the ship, with all our loading and our seeds, and whatsoever thing we had brought with us,"

The nice man at the truck rental place did not have a 10 foot moving van... so we got the 14 foot truck for the same price! The gas will doubtless cost a few dollars more, but it was so easy to load that I am perfectly happy with it. Two brothers from Elder's Quorum and a Teacher and a Priest helped us move the boxes into it... even with all my worldly possessions (save this computer) packed into it, the truck is still mostly empty.

My darling mother (and most excellent Nephew JCDII) came up from Lakewood to help me move. So far they have been lots of fun and a big help. Even LeAnna loves JCDII... so that's good. I took a bit of a road trip to say "goodbye" to my family in the area, even my Dad came up from Portland to (pick up his dog my sister was babysitting) see me off!

So far my room echoes more than I had remembered from moving in, and my nose is running away from all the dust and particles thrown up by the move. Not many people can honestly say they are "allergic" to moving, but I can! My favorite brother JonE is Elder O'Gara, and in the MTC... so I didn't see him... but I'm sure he's well.  His last letter to us said the food at the MTC is "getting old"... so I know he's ready to go.

Tomorrow in the morning I climb into the truck and drive away to Elk City ID... I can't wait!

"... did cause my people to be industrious,

and to labor with their hands."

So I took apart my shelves and boxed and taped everything on them. I'm washing my last load of laundry, and soon I'll go to sleep so I can wake up tomorrow and do all those last little things to prepare for my move. Then I can be happy and confident as I go down to Lakewood to visit my Mother and Sister and Nephew for the last time before I move all the way back to Idaho!

I've lived in Idaho quite a bit by this point, in both the north and the south, and it'll be good to go back to the northern parts, where it's cooler and mountainous and full of life.

If I had to list my moves, I'd get it wrong... so my darling mother has graciously corrected this list:

Erlangen University Frauen Klinic, Erlangen Germany
Nuremburg Army Hospital, Nuremburg Germany
Schenk Strasse, Ansbach Germany
Bleidorn Kaserne, Ansbach Germany
Rogue River Hwy (Paternal Grandparent's Home), Gold Hill OR
E Wright Ave (Maternal Grandparent's Home), Tacoma WA
Apartment, Rogue River OR
Rogue River Hwy, Gold Hill OR
S Wright Ave, Tacoma WA
S 30th (In front of Holy Rosary), Tacoma WA
E Wright Ave, Tacoma WA
Brookdale Rd, Tacoma WA
E 34th, Tacoma WA
Fairbanks (Murphy's property), Tacoma WA
4th & Broadway (Battered Women's Shelter), Tacoma WA
48th & S. I St, Tacoma WA
Tiny Silver Trailer (Paternal Grandparent's Property), Gold Hill OR
William's Hwy, Grants Pass OR
 Elk City Hotel apt A, Elk City ID
2nd & S Meadow, Grangeville ID
Smithfield, UT
Triplex by train tracks, Garland UT,
Harrison Blvd, Ogden UT
Rural Route 1, Basehor KS
Wild Rose Lane, Elk City ID
S J St, Tacoma WA
S Wright Ave, Tacoma WA
Missionary Training Center, Provo UT
Colorado Springs CO
Aurora CO
Littleton CO
Denver CO
Center CO
Denver CO
Aurora CO
S. Wright St, Tacoma WA
S. Sheridan Ave, Tacoma WA
Kenmore WA
Everett WA
Sunnyvale CA
Lexi's Ln, Nampa ID
S. Alder, Tacoma WA
Tiny Green House, Bellingham WA
New Duplex, Bellingham WA
Oakstone Ave, Meridian ID
Divide Creek Dr, Meridian ID
Cougar Dr, Meridian ID
Davisson Rd, Lakewood WA
S. Wall St, Mt. Vernon WA

and next up: Elk City ID again! And it's about time I got back there. ^_^

"... after we had prepared all things"

I have begun to prepare for my move. I'm showered and shaved and I've got laundry in the wash. I'm going through boxes and when LeAnna gets home I'm going to beg her for strapping tape to close up all those boxes. By June 7th I'll have everything taken apart and stacked in the corner, ready to roll out onto the truck.

Right now though I need to eat some breakfast so I'll have the energy to do all this fun stuff.

"...an idle people,

 full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey."

I've been idle lately, and for that I apologize. I was putting off updating this (over and over again) because it takes me four to six hours to compose a decent post. But really, you don't need to have a dissertation prepared just to let your poor elderly mother know you're still alive. Hi Mom!

I'm going to be moving next week... off to the wilderness of Northern Idaho. Hopefully at some point there I will in fact seek for beasts of prey, they are yummy. Right now I'm making bread, washing dishes, and seriously considering taking a shower... I don't need to end up like the Lamanites in 1 Ne 12:23 who "became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people". If LeAnna walked in the door right now, she's probably take one whiff and declare me an honorary Lamanite... I must admit, I haven't showered all month.

In any case, I'm alive and reasonably well, looking forward to getting away from civilization (but not too far... I need my internet!), and I still have food to eat and a great many people who enjoy my company just because I'm me. All of which is far more than I deserve, and I'm not nearly grateful enough for it, but I try. Some days... if I remember.

Love to all, and to all a good night.

"But wo unto him that has the law given,

yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!"

It's not just awful, it's boring and really really annoying too. You can't think right, nothing makes sense anymore, you feel slow and fuzzy and tired all the time... it's like your head is full of mold instead of brains. They teach you in Church that God is the source of all knowledge, power, and truth... but until you cut yourself off from it, you don't really know. It's not just something "they" say... He really is the one and only Source of knowledge, power, and truth. Luckily, He wants to give you everything you can take, just as fast as you can accept it... you've just got to be prepared.

The first part of what Nephi says is key: "... that has the law given,". If you don't know, then you're not judged according to what you didn't know about... but neither can you be fully rewarded for following it. Jacob tells his people that the Lamanites are more righteous than they are, because the Lamanite men love their wives and children, take only one wife, and are faithful. The Lamanites have not been specifically taught the law of chastity, however;  "... the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.". The Nephites of the time have been taught the law of chastity, and are willfully (on purpose, knowing full well what they are doing) breaking it.

Because the Lamanites are following the law, they receive some blessing for doing so... but these blessings could be thought of as the "natural consequences" of being faithful (in reality, of course, there are no "natural consequences", there is only God's law and the blessings for being faithful to it). They have happier, stronger family relationships with close bonds of mutual trust... even though they don't consciously know they're following God's law at all... they don't even know God. But when we follow God's laws, we are blessed for doing so, even if we have no idea that we are doing it.

On the other hand, when we transgress the law, we receive no such blessings. But there's quite a difference between transgressing a law you do not know, and sinning; which is to willfully break a law you do know.

The key is whether or not you know the law. If you don't know the law, you receive blessings (including greater sensitivity to the Spirit) for keeping it if you happen to do so, and you don't receive the blessings if  you do not keep it... that's it, you either get the blessing or not, end of line. It gets a bit more complicated if you do know the law. If you know the law and keep it, you receive the blessings for keeping that law, and you receive additional blessings for knowingly obeying God's laws (including specific additional blessings if the law you keep was accepted under covenant), and you receive additional light and knowledge as you need it and are capable of receiving it. Now, if you do know the law and you break it willfully it's a whole different thing. Not only do you not receive the blessings for keeping the law, you also accept the penalty for having broken a law you knew about (including specific additional penalties if the law you broke was accepted under covenant), and not only do you forfeit the additional light and knowledge, you also have your current light and knowledge taken from you!

This combination of losing not only the 'regular' blessings, but also the additional blessings, light and knowledge, and having to accept the penalties of breaking a covenant is so devastating that the Church will sometimes release a person from their covenants (and the associated responsibilities, blessings and penalties) if that person shows themselves incapable or unwilling to keep those covenants. This is not done as any kind of punishment, but rather as a way to prevent that person from becoming so completely overwhelmed that they give in to despair and never recover.

By the grace of God (and not by any virtue of my own) I've not yet fallen that far... and I am working now to ensure I never will. The depth of despair and pain I've already endured is plenty, thanks, and I really don't want any more.

The part that most annoys me, is that I have really good memories of the times when I was obedient to God's laws, and I can clearly remember how much smarter, happier, and just plain better I was. I have personal experience of ignorantly transgressing the law, and not receiving the associated blessings. At the time I had no idea what what wrong, but I see it clearly now. I know all about sin... and the (so much) more painful loss of not only the promised blessings, but also the light and knowledge brought by the Spirit. Finally, I have made and then broken sacred covenants, and have felt the awful pain and darkness of having done so. It's nothing like transgressing the law, or even sin... "damnation" is really the only appropriate description for it. The loss of all light and joy and knowing that I willfully did it to myself with no one else to blame... that's what really brings home the pain. Not only do you lose what you had... you remove yourself so far from God's light that the pain and confusion and despair is exactly as horrific as your former strength and clarity and hope were joyous.

But just when the Adversary would have you believe that all hope is lost (and that is his game plan, get you to sin a little, then a lot, then just give up and die so you can be miserable forever just like him) you get a second chance ( and a third, a fourth, a  490th, and so on).

Repentance! it really does deserve the italics and the exclamation point... because it needs to be exclaimed from the rooftops! Really, it does... there's a very good reason that the Lord consistently tells his prophets and leaders that "they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord". Because that's what we need to hear.  And not just hear it, but do it too! Missionaries get to preach "...Jesus Christ, and him crucified" because non-members are mostly transgressing the law, which is remedied by simply learning and living the law, not to mention that repentance and baptism for the remission of sins is the hoped for result of missionary activity.

Those sent to teach active (or not-so-active) members are all about repentance. We're all of us mortal, subject to error and sin both, and I, at least, do both on a depressingly regular basis. Hence the need for regular and honest repentance.

I love what king Lamoni's father (himself king of all the Lamanites) asked, when Aaron had taught him the gospel. He said: "...what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy... ?" and when Aaron replied "...if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest." The king immediately bowed himself down and began to pray, saying: "O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee..." (emphasis added).

I will give away all my sins to know thee...

That man was amazing. He had faith and he was ready to change, and he wasn't going to let anything come between him and the Lord. There have been times when I was not able to say this, when I believed Satan's lies, and thought that my sins were more attractive than the gospel and the blessings of God. But luckily sin is boring and it gets really old amazing quickly. Then you've got two options: more sin (and usually worse) or stop sinning! It's funny how that second option is never in the list of options the Adversary gives you.

But it's really not that hard to work out: if sin is boring and stupid and useless, if you are bored and stupid and useless when you sin... then stop doing it! But sin is (initially) exciting, and sometimes pleasurable... so your body wants to do it... and if the spirit is weak the flesh is perfectly willing to walk all over it. That's why you so often have to get help (most often from those who love you), and if you're really lucky, the help God sends you will be super annoying and  not give up. Because they do love you, even if you're being  boring, stupid, and useless. That's why we have relatives... to keep us on the straight and narrow, no matter how bad our own sense of direction may be.

I, for one, have some amazingly annoying loving relatives (hi Mom!). I've also go some amazing friends who want to see me succeed, so that's cool too. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go practice my repentance... I've got some sins to give away.