Principles
I like to think of myself as a principle-based person. And this quote has caused me to ponder on some of the greatest principles in my life:
-Integrity. This is so much more than honesty. It's transparency. It's trustworthiness. It's doing the right thing even if no one is watching.-Putting God's will above my own (this one is a daily challenge, but I believe it's a true principle and continue to work and do this.)
-Charity: the pure love of Christ. I think this Christmas Season could be summed up by this one word, actually!! But, we need charity in our hearts all year long!
-When we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God. This great principle was given to us by King Benjamin, but we see this great example set for us repeatedly by our Savior, Jesus Christ in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. He showed He loved His (our) Father by loving and serving others.
-Faith precedes the Miracle. By small and simple things, great things are brought to pass. I just experienced a great miracle in my own life. A miracle healing of my leg and back. The two bulging discs in my back have debilitated me to pretty much bed rest the past 5 months. I prayed in faith, fervently. I received Priesthood blessings. My back was healed without surgery. Though, sometimes this is not always the case. Sometimes surgery is the miracle healing. I give all the credit to my God for my healing.
-The Atonement has great healing power! It encompasses healing of every kind: physical, spiritual, emotional, mental. Every time either I or one of my kids experiences healing, I try to acknowledge my Savior and his Atonement. If we have faith, and repent we can be healed of our ailments. Sometimes we may not receive complete healing until the resurrection. But, our most important healing is our spiritual healing. And that comes by Faith, Repentence, Baptism, Covenant Making, Covenant Keeping, Continuous Striving and picking ourselves up when we fall down, Hard Work in relationships, Choosing the Right Every Day, and Becoming the Person who He wants us to be!!
- We are never alone when we stand with God! Though we may not have a single earthly person standing next to us, when we make the brave choice to not follow the ways of the world, or succumb to peer pressure, we will be standing strong with God!!! And we will also be standing with Nephi, Moroni, Joseph Smith, and so many other great people!!!
-Never sacrifice what you *really* want, for what you want right now!!! This is a big part of my "conservative character." If this is not what you really want in life but you are feeling tempted or pressured, do NOT give in!!! Hold out awhile longer for what you REALLY want!!! I am a huge believer in this!! There is a lot of self control that comes with this principle, but it is SO rewarding!! It's a huge part of who I am!!! And I invite you all to try it!!
-Relationships are the most important thing. Family is everything. We were organized as families by God. He assembled us in he pre-mortal world. I used to feel like I was mismatched in my own family of origin, only to find as I am aging, that who am I to question God's all knowing. And only to realize as I strive to strengthen the relationships with my own 9 brothers and sisters, and parents that who am I kidding?! I was placed in a family of awesome-ness!!! These guys are all great, and unique and love every one of them with my whole heart!!! And not only is it just family relationships that are important, so our our friendships, and probably our relationships with all that we interact with. We should leave every single person feeling better about themselves than when we met them.
-Be your best self. If you've learned how to be kind, be kind, even when it's hard! If you learned the value of hard work, do it! If you've learned truth, live it!!
And I have other abiding principles in my life that I will have to save for another time, when I have more time to write. But I challenge any who reads this to ponder and find out what your abiding principles in life are, it is a great mental and spiritual adventure!!
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