"Know ye not that... ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price..."

As I was reading in the Bible today, I was struck by this passage in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. It reads,

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Thinking about this, I began to realize that all that we really are is because of the great blessings that our Savior has given to us. We truly have been bought with a price, the greatest price that has ever been paid--the blood of Jesus Christ. In all that we do, we must remember that our bodies, our lives are not our own but rather God's. We must therefore turn to Him with all that we have and willingly submit to do whatever he would have us do. At times it may seem like more than we can bear, but the Lord will always sustain us in performing His work. Our lives have been given that we might help to perform the Lord's work of bringing souls to Him. Therefore, our greatest successes will not come as we seek for our own great achievements but rather when we turn to Him, surrendering that which is rightfully His into His hands, being willing to advance His work. Then, we will be blessed with the strength to overcome. We will be granted power beyond what we can imagine as God carefully molds us into the instruments that we can become. Therefore, being God's, we will do best as we do not lose ourselves in our concerns with those around us but rather lose ourselves in the service of God, doing our personal best to glorify Him at any cost.

"I will come to you"

Seeing as I haven't written anything recently, I figured that it was about time that I did again. Thinking about what to write, I recalled a powerful scripture that has a had a prominent place throughout my life. John 14:18 reads,

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

As I look back and consider all the things that have happened throughout my life, I realize that time and again, this truth has been manifest to me, not only in my own life, but also in the lives of so many who are close to me. It seems like in any time that things are rough, the Lord places those individuals or those tender mercies into my life that will help to carry me when I feel like I can do no more on my own.

But more than anything, I have seen the love of the Savior in the lives of those I love. As I have been called upon to help them when they are in the depths of despair, I have felt the power of Lord within me as I have been able to feel the love of Christ fill me. I have grown to know that the Lord will always fulfill His promise given in D&C 84:88 where He said,

And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

Those angels are real. Whether seen or unseen, mortal or immortal, they come unto us when we need them most. Sometimes,I believe, we are called upon to be those angels to those around us. Feeling the power of God within me to do that which I never would have been able to do otherwise has made me feel so grateful for all that our Savior has done for us. Suffering and dying for even the most sinful soul so that He would be able to understand all the heartache, pain, and despair that we would face, He has shown love beyond what I can comprehend. Yet, I have felt that love and know that He will always support us in whatever struggle we face.

However, besides gratefulness for the love that He has shown unto me, I have felt the deepest humility in all that I've experienced. More than ever, I have felt the same way that Ammon must have felt when he declared in Alma 26:12,

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

I have felt the power of God and know that it is only through that power that I can really do anything of great importance. I have literally seen miracles and have participated in them, praising His name, knowing that it was only through Him that I could do them.

In all that I've learned in recent years, possibly the greatest is that the Lord will come unto us, never leaving us comfortless. He will always support us when we've fallen and begin to lose hope in ever rising again. And because of that, it is so important to always be a willing instrument in the Lord's hands, for we never know when we may called on to be an angel for a loved one, a friend, or a stranger in need.

This is the testimony last of all which we give of him: That he lives

So I finally gave in to making a blog, maybe just because of the hope that my thoughts might mean something to someone as others' words have to me.

As I start this, I know I need to express my enormous gratitude for all that my Heavenly Father has given me. I know that I am only the person that I am today because of the blessings that I have received, blessings which I know are mostly undeserved.

But among all the great blessings I've received, whether they be my amazing family, my friends, the opportunity to study here at BYU, or the abilities that I've been granted, I know that the greatest blessing that I have is the knowledge I have that Christ lives. For many years now, the scripture that has touched me most of any has been D&C 76:22-24. It says,

22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—

24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.

This scripture has remained so powerful to me because it has given me strength to do whatever I need to because I know that my Savior lives. I know it because the Holy Ghost has borne witness of it to my heart. More than any other thought or emotion I have ever felt, the knowledge that the Holy Ghost has given me is something which I hope I will never forget and which I doubt I can.

I am so grateful for the great blessing that we have to communicate with our Heavenly Father. I know that the heavens are open today and that we can receive knowledge and power from heaven in the same way that James taught after the resurrection of Christ.

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
-James 1:5-6

I only know these things because I have felt the heavens open with my mind being enlightened and my heart opened to understand the things which I have asked to know.

The power of the Spirit has given me power to add my testimony to that of Joseph Smith. My Savior lives! I know that He does -- I could never deny it. And I know that He has restored the Gospel in its fulness upon the earth again, for which I am eternally grateful.