Reading: finished Ether and through to Moroni 6. I read a lot but I don't think I read with a lot of depth, and I realized that I need to ask questions if I want to get more out of my reading: 2 Ne 32:4 "if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock"
So I considered the question: How can I maintain spirituality? We've all had those great moments when we resolve to do something and do great for 2 days and then we lose that feeling and motivation.
First I thought of Mosiah 4:9-13 "if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you"
And what is "this"?
-believe in God, that he is, created, has all wisdom, power, we don't comprehend what He can.
-repent, forsake, humble, ask for forgiveness, do what you believe
-remember, retain in remembrance the greatness of God, own nothingness, goodness and long-suffering, that we've been forgiven
-humble ourselves
-call on the Lord daily
-stand steadfast - consistency and obedience
Also I went through Alma 5 and asked myself the questions, and I think that really trying to be honest with ourselves and evaluate how we're doing on those areas; never being complacent, will help us maintain spirituality.
Another way: just keep our covenants. So I reread the sacrament prayers in Moroni 4-5 and the 3 promises: take upon us Christ's name, always remember Him, keep the commandments. I thought about how usually when I think about taking upon me the name of Christ it's more focused on what I do - am I acting as Christ would act, acting in His name but I think that I should also focus on the fact that taking Christ's name upon me means to enter into a covenant with him; that His Atonement will apply to me and cover my sins. Sometimes I think we try to do too much or take too much credit when really Christ is the one sustaining and enabling us.
Stress can be spiritually distracting, so I think scheduling, diligence, hard work, focus etc to stay on top of schoolwork will ultimately help keep the Spirit with me; also reminding myself during stressful moments of why I'm doing this, consecrate my efforts to God. It's His assignment so remind myself that when He gives an assignment He provides a way. 2 Ne 32:9. Interesting that this is the concept of consecration, but it says to pray that God will consecrate my efforts to me, for the welfare of my soul. When we consecrate, is it really God that does the actual consecrating? What is the definition of consecrate anyways? Dedicate, make sacred, set apart as sacred. Maybe it's like the stones and the brother of Jared - he certainly offered up the stones but it was God touching them that made them holy or of any more value than regular stones. So I suppose the answer is yes, we consecrate and then God consecrates those efforts back.
I've been feeling like I need to live the spirit of the Word of Wisdom better: freedom from any addictions, moderation, health, sleep, exercise, so I'm thinking through some specific goals that I can set, and as with my study goal, I need some accountability to make sure that it gets done. Perhaps I will report that on this blog as well, daily? weekly? Or maybe report to a specific person, not sure yet, open to suggestions. I know Mom had that chart in a visible place that she checked off glasses of water she drank, servings of vegetables, exercise, etc. Maybe that could work. Not sure if I want to write for example what time I went to bed and woke up on this blog cuz sometimes it might be embarrassing :) But I know that having a healthier, fitter, and more alert body facilitates having more capacity to feel the Spirit, and will help me to have more control over my emotions - this stuff is all matter and is very closely linked together.
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