phew...

A lot has been going on in the last few weeks. There have been many private and public struggles in my life. Through it all, the Lord has shown me his tender mercies through simple acts and people around me.

I am so greatful for the priesthood in my life, for men who seek the inspired council of the Lord so that they may open the windows of heaven to our lives. The Lord truly is mindful of us and wants us to succeed.

Last Monday, I went to Elle's house and shared a Family Home Evening with her family. They are so wonderful and there is a great spirit in that house. He father also gave me a beautiful blessing that helped to give me some reassurance about things that are going on in my life right now.

The FHE lesson centered around Doctrine and Covenants 46:28-33. It is interesting how many things I have studied in the last week have linked to something in these verses.

First of all, we talked about what it was to be "in Spirit." How do you get "in Spirit"?

There is a footnote that points to Ezq. 36:27. In a nutshell, it states that to be "in Spirit" we need to walk in His statues, keep His judgements and (most importantly, I think) do them. I also came upon another scripture in D&C 11:12 that gives three things: do justly, walk humbly and judge righteously.

The verses then go on to talk about asking in the Spirit and according to the will of God. What is the will of God?

I thought about this for a minute and I thought about the word desire. This word leads to so much we either do or don't do in our lives. The scriptures talk about how we are rewarded according to our desires. For example, our righteous actions and the resulting blessings lead us to want to be more righteous.

For me, the will of God is the desire he has for us to be obedient and return home. There are many things he desires of us and that is the reason we are given guidelines (commandments, scriptures, covenants, etc.). Everything the Lord does and asks of us is because He wants us to succeed and grow while we are here.

President Corbridge talked about our desires and how it would affect our missions and our lives following the mission. I have started to mark the word in my scriptures. It is interesting to see when the word comes up and the context it is in. Desire is very powerful.

Elle's dad talked about how the will of God is to think as God thinks. When our thoughts are aligned with God's, amazing things can happen. Look at the ancient prophets and the trust God had in them to bring to pass the many miracles.

When we are aligned with God, we know that all must be done in the name of Christ (v. 30). Anything that is done in the Spirit needs to be done in His name. This is why Christ's church must bear His name and ordinances such as baptism and giving the Gift of the Holy Ghost must be done in His name.

This leads to my last thought in the closing verses. It says we must give thanks in the Spirit. When I read this, I thought about a recent talk given by Pres. Boyd K Packer in our October stake conference. He said we must learn to think about our prayers. Often, I think we get lost in vain repetitions. If we are in the Spirit, we are more likely to have an actual conversation with the Lord.

I have found that when I talk to my Father in Heaven, my prayers not only mean more, but I feel the Spirit more. The personal nature of our prayers reflects our understanding of our relationship with Deity.

The light of Christ should be in us because we are made from His light. When this light is illuminated inside of us, we have desires to share it with other people (It is amazing how our desires can pull other people in for better or worse). But when we partake of truth and it moves a change within us, we want to share it with others because we want them to have the same opportunity.

What will your desires do for you?