Is Your World Falling Apart?

I have felt my world falling apart.  I have felt lonely with people all around.  I have felt useless.  I have wanted to die.  I have felt the despair of loss.  I have felt powerless when using all my strength.  I have felt horrible regret.  I have felt lost and confused.  I have been past my breaking point.

I stand now only because I was rescued, time and time again.  I called out to  Jesus Christ and He quickly took me in His arms.  He replaced my pain with peace.  He replaced my darkness with light.  He replaced my sorrow with joy.

Jesus said, "Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls."

If science makes more sense to you, try an experiment and know the truth for yourself.

If you have looked for truth about God but found corruption, suppression or confusion, there is still hope.  

My personal mission statement for life is: "I help people to grow in happiness."  I will not force you.  I will not use you.  I don't want anything but your happiness.  Why?  Because I love you all.

For more information, don't hesitate to message me.

How much does God love us?

I recognize God’s and the Savior’s Love, Mercy, and Grace for me. I am so grateful to them.

Note: This is written in terms of "I" so that each of us can read it as it applies to ourselves.

I am a son/daughter of The All-Powerful God. (Eph. 4:6)  He loves me so much that He created this amazing world for me to live on; He loves me so much that He has prepared a plan for me that gives me the opportunity to receive all that He has and become like Him! (D&C

He sent His perfect Son to die for me (John 3:16).  

He has lovingly given me weaknesses to help me be humble so that I will learn to rely on Him.  This reliance will help me to become so much stronger and better than if I had no weaknesses at all. (Ether 12:27) when I am weak then I am strong. (Paul)

He has given me strengths and opportunities so that I can help others, which also helps me feel needed and appreciated.  He has given me the privilege of living in an amazing time of the gospel and church organization on the earth.  As a descendant of Ephraim He has asked me to help in His Work.

He has a plan that includes my help.  He has entrusted His children for me to care for and even teach.

Every day God gives me so much:

He loves me so much that He will listen to me at any moment I choose, and for as long as I want. (3 Nephi 18:15)  He will answer my prayers for my best good.

If I just do my best, He will make up for the rest, including all of my imperfections. (2 Nephi 25:23)  In fact, even if I hadn’t done my best, I can sincerely repent.  In His generous mercy, He will forgive me and forget my mistakes. (Isaiah 1:18)  

He will save me over and over without limit or hesitation.  

He loves me so much that He will prepare each of my days so that I receive the experiences that I need, for the lesson I’m needing to learn,  at each point in my life.  

He loves me so much that He will make sure that any temptation Satan gives me is not more than I can handle, and will provide a way to escape each and every one of them. (1 Cor. 10:13)

When I am humble, He lights the path before me enough for me to advance, and gives me the opportunity to wonder and learn by not showing me the end.

He grants me air, water, food, shelter, and people to associate with.  He teaches me based on the point I am at in my life and to progress by providing situations to learn from, providing tests of my progress, people to step in and help me, words to my soul through His Holy Spirit, millions of His words in the scriptures and from the mouths of latter-day prophets, and always takes my eternal welfare to heart.  He loves me immensely - much more than even my parents or companion.

He has given me my family, my life, this opportunity on Earth, created this amazingly beautiful world, created a plan for me, and even sent His Son to die for me.

I know he loves me more than I will ever be able to understand.

My brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life. Indeed it is only with that reassurance burning in our soul that we can have the confidence to keep trying to improve, keep seeking forgiveness for our sins, and keep extending that grace to our neighbor. ("Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You" By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)

Overcoming Anger

This is the best advice I've heard on overcoming anger.  It has helped me immensely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLKBPn9GEVM
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/slow-to-anger?lang=eng

The Cause of Frustration

When I'm frustrated, it's hard for me to think clearly.  I feel impatient, angry, dissatisfied, and usually express myself in unhealthy ways.  I had an epiphany and realized that when I'm frustrated, it's because there's something I don't know.  That is probably the healthiest way to look at it.  That way, I can focus my energy on figuring out what I don't know, and asking the appropriate question(s).

Examples:

1. If I'm frustrated that my child isn't cooperating, I probably don't know why they aren't.  I need to stop and ask them how they're doing and what they're experiencing.
2. If I'm frustrated by someone asking me a question, it might be because I think I should know the answer but I don't.  I could let them know that I don't know, that I'll try to figure it out, and get back to them.
3. If I'm frustrated that someone hasn't done what they said they would, I don't know why they didn't.  I need to talk to them and really listen so I can understand and maybe even help them in some way.
4. If I'm frustrated because my disciplining hasn't helped a child to improve their behavior, I don't know what I could do to help them better.  I need to do some research and/or ask around to get more discipline ideas that may get better results.

There are so many more situations this applies to.  

Don't stay frustrated.  Call it what it is.  Realize you don't know something, figure out what you don't know, and find out that information.

A Trick to Avoid Trials

Are you worried about what life will bring?  Are you afraid of certain kinds of trials?  I've learned a trick that can reduce and nearly eliminate specific trials.  The answer is found in understanding why we have trials.  Some reasons that we have trials are to humble us, motivate us to learn, help us improve our perspective, learn specific lessons and become better people.  

The trick is similar to "clepping" out of classes in college.  This is where you prepare on your own and then show up for a single test.  If you do well enough on the test, you get the credit as if you had taken the entire class.  The college is satisfied because you have proven that you have learned what you needed to, even if you avoided all of the time and effort in attending class and doing homework.

The same can happen with our trials.  Ponder about the trial and imagine what lessons you would learn from it.  Study good information sufficiently so that you have a working understanding of those lessons.  Next, do your best to live accordingly.  The trial will likely come, but often in an abbreviated, temporary form...just enough to verify that you have learned what you needed to.  Once that is over, if you continue to incorporate those lessons in your life, you will likely avoid that same trial ever again.

There is so much to learn in this life, that there's not much purpose in you having a trial for which you've already learned the lessons from.  Being proactive has great benefits.

How to Heal from Deeply Buried Pain

I believe that every person in the world has had deep, deep pain.  It could be from physical, emotional, or mental abuse, guilt, abandonment, rejection, neglect, ridicule, criticism, contempt, shame, judging, or anything else.  This pain almost always buries itself deep within us.

Any experience that remotely resembles one of the experiences associated with this pain can trigger instant hurt and lead us to reacting in a very hurtful and negative way, even if it was an innocent action that triggered it.  These are more than little pet peeves, although those may even be rooted in this pain.  These pain points are very sensitive.  They can keep us from being the kind of person we want to be.  They can in turn, lead us to hurting others very deeply.  Often psychologists diagnose emotional issues as caused by a painful childhood.  Even hurt from decades earlier can affect us today much more than we realize.

Pain points can remain even if we don't feel bitterness toward others, and while we feel that we have forgiven others for anything they've done.  Pain points are scars left behind that we don't imagine will ever heal.  I now know differently.

Jesus Christ has literally and fully healed some of my pain points.  I have full faith that He can heal all of them.  I'm going through that process at this point in my life.  I yearn for this healing because I believe it will completely change how I look at and treat others, especially those closest to me.  I have already seen a change in me, and they have too.  I'm writing this to help others who may seek this as well.  I'm writing this before I've healed all of my pain points so that I can do so while it is still new to me, and I haven't gotten so comfortable with the process that all of the steps blend into one.

Here are the steps that work for me.  Feel free to adjust these or come up with your own completely.  The most important thing is drawing on the love and Atonement of Our Savior Jesus Christ to be healed of the pain.

1. Identify some of your pain points.  Write as many down as you can.  This can be a very painful process, and it's important that it not break you.  If it is getting too difficult, pause and regroup.  It may be helpful to write down some smaller ones first.  
2. Once you have some listed, choose one small one.  I tried to take a group of about five that were related, and I found out very quickly that it was too much for me.  Take it easy, especially if this is your first time.  It will get easier with practice.
3. For one specific pain point: 
1. Talk to a friend or to God, describing the pain.  You will likely feel that pain welling up within you as you focus on it.  Say anything that you need to so that it is fully identified.
2. Pray and tell God that you don't want to feel that pain anymore.  Express your desire and will to be free from it through Jesus Christ.
3. Tell God that you accept Christ's suffering as full and complete payment for all that you have ever suffered around that pain.  Tell God that you forgive the people involved.  Use their names to make it personal and complete.  You may feel the burden beginning to lift at this point.
4. Next plead for Jesus Christ to remove the pain point.  Plead for Him to pull it out of you (like sucking venom from a snake bite or surgically removing a tumor).  Plead for the pain to be gone.  Repeat or elaborate as needed until the pain is removed.  This can be a painful process as the hurt and misery of the pain point is pulled out of you.  When it is done, you should feel a calm coming over you and no longer feel that pain.  
5. Thank Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for what they have just done for you.
6. Envision someone doing something that would have triggered the pain point.  Plan what you will do to respond with love, respect, and/or understanding.  (This is to prevent the pain point from returning.)
4. Whenever ready to do this again, repeat these steps, starting at step 2 for another pain point.
5. When the list of pain points is exhausted, try to identify more, starting at step 1 until you are fully healed of all pain points.

I wondered if the pain point was really gone.  I started to think about the specifics (from step 3), and instead of feeling pain, I felt peace.  It was amazing.  It was a miracle.

What's more is that in the place of there being pain in that part of my heart, I felt love.  The pain point was replaced with the Love of God.  It is amazing.  As I went through this process, I could feel myself changing.  I look forward to completing my entire list.  When I'm done, I will look for more pain points and heal those until I have none left.  That will be a new beginning for me in my life.  I believe that I will be much more kind, loving, and giving.  I will be the kind of person that I want to be.

How to move from failure to success - 2nd edition

In the 1st edition of this topic, I was thinking that we should focus on improving specific things that we do.  I'm not so sure now that that's the right approach.

I had an epiphany.  We are all human and mortal.  Our Heavenly Father wants us to let Him in to be part of our lives.  He wants us to rely on Him.  He doesn't expect or even want us to be perfect on our own.  He wants us to be perfect in Christ.  He wants us to become one with Christ by submitting our will to Him.  He gives us weaknesses so that we are humble (Ether 12:27).  Our weaknesses are not the problem.  Our selfishness, fear, guilt, doubt, uncertainty, hate, etc. are the problem.  

By uniting ourselves with the Savior, we will fully forgive others, drawing on His strength and the power of the Atonement, eliminating all of the hate and pain that we feel.  We will have faith in Christ, be willing to take leaps of faith, see others and situations with an eye of faith, and as we pass the trials of our faith, we will receive the testimony and knowledge that always follows those trials.  We will no longer be held back by all of the negative, and we will be free.  We will be filled with joy, hope, and charity.  We will have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, having his constant guidance.  We will be praying almost always, as if speaking with a friend, coworker, or companion that we do EVERYTHING with.

Anything that we put significant time and effort into accomplishing, we will accomplish. We will get better at it, it will become easier over time, etc.  That is simply how we function.  Where we put our time and effort is another way of stating our will.  Our minds will automatically find better ways to do whatever we choose to do.

If we put our time and effort into becoming one with the Christ, we will have immediate access to His guidance, happiness, faith, forgiveness, hope, and love.  As Ammon puts it, "I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things" (Alma 26:12).  With that power, we will have no trouble at all speaking with respect, not taking our loved ones for granted, forgiving immediately, being transparent, being trustworthy, giving love abundantly, and anything else that you may want to work on.

The solution is to "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." (D&C 6:36).   "Pray always lest ye enter into temptation."  We will have sure footing, help others like never before, have joy more than we can today imagine, and do so much more than we ever thought possible.  Our weaknesses will be balanced by His strength.  We will find and have success.