Sunday, February 24, 2013
My talk on reverenece
Sorry for the delay anyway I did a talk on reverence in church so here it goes
Reverence
Today I’ve been asked to give a talk on reverence. It’s been a long time since I’ve given a talk so I’m glad to be here today.
A Primary song from the children’s songbook says…
Rev’rence is more than just quietly sitting
It’s thinking of Father above
A feeling I get when I think of his blessing
I’m rev’rent for rev’rence is love.
I like this description of reverence because it helps me learn more about what reverence is.
A couple of summers ago my family went to Turkey . Because Turkey is a Muslim country, in every city we visited there were many mosques and we were able to go inside lots of them. If we wanted to go inside we had to do certain things. We had to dress modestly and take off our shoes. My mother had to wear a scarf over her head. We had to talk quietly and behave reverently when we were inside. Outside the mosque we saw many men preparing to go inside to pray or worship. There were special fountains where the people washed their hands, their head and their feet. How we acted in the mosque and how the people prepared themselves to worship in the mosque teaches us about reverence. The clean feet means you should be found in reverent places, (means you won’t go into bars, casinos or any other secular places.) The clean head means you think clearly which means you’re wise and you don’t think any bad thoughts. Clean hands means you do whatever God wants you to do such as serving other people, reading the scriptures, and praying . Each of them symbolizes purity, both physical and spiritual. In other words we show reverence to God by how we live our lives.
However it’s hard to be reverent due to all the things going on in The World today. Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the 12 apostles said this. “ The world grows increasingly noisy. Clothing, grooming and conduct are looser and sloppier and more disheveled. Raucous music with obscene lyrics blasted through amplifiers while lights with psychedelic colours characterizes the drug culture. Variations of these things are gaining wide acceptance and influence over our youth…This trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental or innocent nor harmless.
The first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming of the channels of communication of those he intends to conquer.
Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit.”
To me this means the devil can jam our communications with Heavenly Father and conquer us if we are too irreverent in our lives.
I can keep my channels clear as I pray, read the scriptures and stay quiet.
My autism is an example. Whenever it’s noisy and uncomfortable for me, I always talk to myself (my mother calls it rockets.) Because of autism my mind is more complex and there are advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is my increased brain capacity and sharper memory: a disadvantage is when an unwanted thought gets into my head it’s complex to get it out. But I found the most effective method. You know the boxes in buildings that say “In case of fire break glass”, well, I have a ‘in case of bad thought, read scripture’. My emergency scripture is my favourite, James 1:5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upraideth not and it shall be given him. but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.”
I’d like to bear my testimony. I know the church is true. I know that we will return to Heavenly Father one day. I know we can overcome sin .I know that if we are reverent we can fulfill God’s plan. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
My 14th Birthday
Sorry I kept you in suspense, forgive me please. Anyway I'm 14, and to me it's a one of those golden moments in my teenage life. You know why? First, I'm a teacher, Second, I'm now in Venturers, Third, I can stay up later, Fourth, I can get a driver's learner's permit (though that may not happen because I'm distraction prone and I wouldn't last five minutes on the open road.) Fifth I can watch 14A movies! What I got on january the 3rd, I got a movie pass, 2 history books, 2 video games, A book on the apostasy and the King James Bible, and a BOSU ball for working on my small muscles. So this is a great event in my life.
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