God's Gifts

After hearing about the passing of Elder Scott, I decided I wanted to read some wise words from one of my favorite general authorities. I sure do love the insights and love he shares whenever he speaks! I was scrolling through a number of his talks and the title that stuck out most to me was "Making the Right Choices." From what I gathered, this talk was aimed specifically at young men, mostly hitting on the importance of the Law of Chastity. Even thought I am definitely not the intended audience, I feel like I learned a ton- not just about the Law of Chastity specifically, but about how a lot of the principles he emphasized can apply to so many other areas of life as well. Love how that gospel connects erry where. Yes indeed. After reading this talk, I realized that it all connects because God loves us. He gave us each a body, this earth, commandments, and a savior- all because He loves us individually and wants us to become the best version of ourselves.

So real quick review, why is it important we live the Law of Chastity?

• Allows us to be part of bringing God's children to earth
• We help bring another human being to this planet. That is so much power and responsibility!! Seriously, I am amazed at how incredible it is that we have the capacity to create another human being. Wowzas
• Connects husband and wife emotionally, physically, spiritually
• Strengthens relationship with each other on each level
• Ties family together as a whole when practiced in a safe, respectful, and loving environment

What happens when we don't live this law or when someone else's disregard for it affects us?

• Emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual scarring can occur
• Fear can damage ability to have a healthy, proper relationship further down the road
• Our ability to feel the spirit diminishes as we embrace only feeding those emotions
• Sexual emotions and feelings are not bad. It is only negative when we allow them to dictate our behavior and our hearts with no control or regard to how it affects us and others in our lives
• Seek to individually understand your own personal boundaries and the boundaries God has set

Some of the PRINCIPLES (which apply to ANY area of life) that stuck out most to me were:

• Our relationship with God should always be first
• Improve relationship with God= improve relationship with everyone else
• "The more obedient you are...the more the Lord can help you overcome temptation"
• Temptation to turn away from God
• Temptation to give up when things are hard
• Temptation to look the other way when something is wrong
• Temptation to be passive
• Temptation to ignore other's pain/discomfort
• Temptation to willingly disobey
• Temptation to remain silent
• Temptation to give into fear
• He can help over come any, all , or even more of these temptations. What a guy
• Avoid compromising my beliefs to be accepted by others
• When your heart, head, and actions are not aligned, misery follows (based off personal experience, yo)
• When it comes to self destructive behavior, replacement is necessary
• Replace negative for a positive
• For example: Negative thoughts (I'm a bad person, I'm an idiot, I'll never get this right, so and so is so much smarter than me, I'm not good enough, smart enough, good looking enough, not witty enough, not cultured enough, I'm too loud, too spazzy, too stupid, I'm too slow at this, etc)
• Replace with Positive Thoughts (I made a mistake, but I will do better next time: That wasn't my best, but with more practice I'll get the hang of it: I don't understand it now, but with more time, it'll come: I am enough, etc)
• Keeping the commandments individually (like the law of chastity or any other commandment that involves controlling our mortal cravings and appetites) allows us to become
• More self compassionate, more self confident, more self reliant, more patient, understanding, etc.
• Allows us to practice those attributes to others (more forgiving, loving, respectful of others when we respect ourselves

"Consistent, willing obedience increases confidence and ability. It produces character and allows you to face difficult challenges and overcome them. It qualifies you to receive inspiration and power from the Lord."

I am so grateful for my study today. I feel like it really helped me connect the importance of keeping all of the commandments to the best of our ability- not just the ones we like or the ones we're already "good" at- but really seeking to understand the why behind the ones we may feel don't make as much sense to us. It all comes down to God's love for us as His children. We've each received a body from Him, with an unlimited capacity to impact the world around us. So many of the commandments help us care for our physical body, as well as for the spiritual aspect of ourselves.

I feel like I've taken these gifts for granted- 1. That I have a body and 2. That embracing the commandments more fully in my life will help me better care for my body. I've been a little grumpy (ok a lot grumpy) lately with a lot of different medical issues going on- from a continually worsening frozen shoulder (which creates a lot of pain in both shoulders and my neck), to migraines, constant fatigue, scoliosis, painful knees and neck, TMJ, and other issues- but when it all comes down to it, I am amazed by the wonderful body God has given me.

I am grateful for the chance I have to walk, run, dance, sing, laugh, cry, feel pain, feel joy, connect with others, paint, see, hear, touch, and truly enjoy my experience here on earth. I am grateful for my two legs that get me where I need to be, my feet that support me on all of my adventures, my hands that create, care, love, inspire, build, and feel the world around me. I am grateful that I can see with both my eyes, that I can hear with both my hears, that I can taste all the wonderful (and disgusting) foods there are to taste, that I can smell all the skunks, lawns, pine trees, pools, peppermint, apples, lavender, rosemary, rainstorms and plantains that I fancy. I am grateful for my ability to process my emotions, to empathize with others, to reflect on my own life, and express my inner workings through writing and painting. I am grateful for this body, my body.

I know that God made it for me and loves me, despite my weaknesses and imperfections, physically and emotionally. I know that I am so fortunate to have the body that I do. I don't want to take this gift for granted, and I want to be better at expressing my gratitude for it through the way I live on a day to daily basis. I know He shows us love for us in everything He does- giving us our bodies, sharing commandments with us to allow us to progress and be the best version of ourselves, and providing us with a savior for when we make mistakes and to enable us to become the best we can be. I want to SHOW God I am grateful for these gifts- not just tell Him. I want to show Him that I am grateful for His love and that I love Him through how I live. I know that I can do it as I try my best day by day with His help. 

I love you so so much and I am so glad for this study!

Much love,

Emmaline