Salvation is a True Blessing

King Benjamin in the Book of Mosiah Chapter 6:6-7 was teaching his people about how to receive salvation.

(6) I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life…
(7) I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement.

To me this scripture points out two things: first, that we need to know and understand that God is our loving Heavenly Father and second, we need to have faith in the atonement of Christ and put our trust in it. If we do as President Monson suggests and “take an inventory of (our) life and look specifically for the blessings” (Consider the Blessings, October 2012) I know that we will see the goodness, wisdom, patience, and longsuffering of God. I love looking back at my day every night before praying and seeing the small blessings that have been given me.  God blesses his children with small and great things.

One gift that I see bless my life every day is the atonement. Christ’s atonement applies to all of us and allows us to change. We can repent of past mistakes, and we can be empowered to be better. The atonement allows us to obtain salvation! As I have sought to better understand the atonement, my faith has increased and my ability to see blessings has grown.

Have you taken an inventory of your day? What are some blessings you have seen?

Who am I?

In my room I have this quote hanging by Dr. Seuss that says, "Today you are you, that is truer than true, there is no one alive who is youer than you!" 

I love the question that this quote provokes in my mind. Who am I?

Well it seems like, according to Dr. Seuss, everyday I am me and you are you, we are all unique individuals. I know that there is one me, but there are a lot of you, and if we consider every "you" that has ever lived on this earth, couldn't we say it is "innumerable"? Though there are so many of us, and I consider us innumerable, to God "all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them" (Moses 1:35, emphasis added). So God knows each and everyone of us! But why does he care so much about his creations, why does he continue to number us even if we have passed away or are forgotten by our peers? In Moses 1 God tells Moses 3 times that "thou art my son". If I am to think about who we are, I know that we are children of God, our Heavenly Father. As children of God we can say that we have an all powerful, all knowing father to bless, protect, and care for us! I am grateful for all the blessings that I receive from him.

Blessing God's Children

We know that through Christ “the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:24, emphasis added). This helps confirm to me what God taught to Moses that, “thou art my son” (Moses 1:4). We are all children of loving Heavenly Parents and they want what is best for us. Looking at examples of parenthood in my life I see many sacrifices that my parents make to help me succeed. They want me to blessed with all the blessings they have.

Continuing to look at my parents as examples I see that I am very much like them. Elder Callister has asked “Do not the laws of science teach us that like begets like, each after its kind? Science has taught us that a complex genetic code transferred from parent to child is responsible for the child attaining the physical attributes of his parents”. Like begets like, and because I am a child of God, I can return and be like him! Knowing that I can return to him it makes me thing more deeply about “Why am I here?”.

I am here to help bless others. Enoch saw God was weeping because “there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren” (Moses 7:36). I do not want to contribute to “wickedness” here on this earth, I really don’t want to be a reason that my Heavenly Parents are weeping. There are many small and simple things that we can do to help diminish the wickedness in the world and one is through testimony.

I hope that through my blog and my testimony that I will be sharing I too can help to bless others and diminish “wickedness among (my) brethren”.

What else can be done to reduce wickedness here on earth? How can you help to bless your brethren? Comment below on your thoughts!