12 Purposes of Life

Dear Missionaries,

One of my favorite books is 12 Purposes of Life by Jay A Parry.  The first two chapters are "To Gain mastery in a temporal world" and "To be tested".  I've summarized it a little for you.

Before we came to earth we lived in heaven as spiritual sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.  We came to earth to become like our Heavenly Parents. To obtain a body which would be a tabernacle, a temple for our spirits.  On earth we would gain experiences for our good, to further our understanding and knowledge. 

 

On earth our brother Lucifer has set out to spoil our Fathers plan.  He knows how important our bodies are and how important it is we learn to communicate spirit to spirit with our Heavenly Father.  If only Lucifer could get us to harm our tabernacles, to harm our bodies or to distract our thinking pattern, so that we forget about God.

 

To help us remember Him, God has given us commandments to keep.  He has promised us that if we keep these commandments we will be able to return to Him one day. 

Heavenly Father knew we were not perfect and he knew we would make mistakes or give into the temptations of our brother Lucifer. God gave His children another gift.  Through our Savior Jesus Christ we have the Atonement.  We are able to repent of our sins and be forgiven.  Christ showed us by example how to live and then took all of our sins upon him and was crucified for us.  We must use that gift in our daily lives.

 

The spirit of Christ is given to all men to lead and guide them.  To be our conscience.  To help us decide right from wrong.  Another gift was given to the children of men.  The gift of the Holy Ghost.    When we are baptized and take upon us the name of Christ and become a member of Christs church all our sins are washed away.  A second baptism often referred to a baptism by fire is the gift of the Holy Ghost.  It is a gift that would enable our spirits to further communicate with our Heavenly Father.  A tool to gain more light and knowledge to help our spirits grow and learn to be compatible with our body of flesh.

 

Because our brother Lucifer knows us personally he and his followers use our personal weaknesses against us.  He whispers lies and tries to get us to harm our bodies and to harm our mind, our thinking process.  He tries to get us to harm others bodies and minds.

 

Some of Satan's lies are

 

There is no God

There is no devil 

This temptation is no sin 

Even though this temptation is a sin it’s not that bad 

You can ponder this temptation – you’re strong enough to resist

It will be easy enough to repent later 

If you do wrong God will punish you lightly and then forgive 

A loving God would not keep you out of heaven 

You are a failure  You are weak.

You’ve gone too far to go back

 

Satan wants to distract us from being close to God.  He will attack us by telling us lies.

He will often try to get us to harm our bodies with bad habits or distract our thoughts with worldly ways. We can become distracted by our busy lifestyle.  Television, Telephones, Music, Reading material,Our hobbies, Work and even vacations.

Emotions like anger, resentment and being unforgiving can block the the spiritual wave lengths.

 

Our bodies are tabernacles given to us to house our spirits. These mortal frames are constructed to be nothing less than temples.  If our bodies become unclean or defiled through sin, we must repent if we hope to receive the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

 

We have been given commandments as guidelines on how we should behave and act.  It is to our own well being to heed to the commandments and be obedient.  When we are righteous we have his promise and the blessing of revelation and inspiration.  When we are disobedient we do not have that promise.

When we rebel or sin we lose the ability to hear and listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. 

 

The holy ghost can be our constant companion.  It means ever faithful steady and true. It is ever present

 

Become mindful of the tactics that are keeping you from thinking and becoming more like God.  Use the power of Prayer to receive guidance and to become an instrument in Heavenly Fathers hands.  Prayer is one of the most powerful gifts of God.  Answers to prayer are among the most promised blessings from heaven.  The answer might be yes or no or not yet.  He may tell us to choose for ourselves.  He may instruct us to inquire about something else first. Or he may give us a blessing we need more than what we asked for.  The answer may not come immediately or in the form we expect but the answer always comes.  Whatever the answer we can feel the presence of the spirit as we pray.  One of the greatest blessings of prayer is Spiritual Presence.

 

Revelation and Inspiration comes straight from the source.  Our Father in Heaven.  It can be channeled in different ways.  The Holy Ghost whispers and prompts to us.  At times it may come as peace of mind or a quiet confirmation. At other times it might come as a sharp warning.  I have heard it to be described as such a wonderful feeling of excitement, happiness and ready to burst and at other times a feeling that is humbling and gentle and makes you want to cry from gratitude.

 

When we are obedient we open up the channels to receive heavenly guidance, revelation and inspiration. This can be channeled directly to us from the Holy Ghost,or through prophets, Leaders,  parents, a neighbor, a friend, or even a stranger.  It is not enough to be good and do good.  We must think of our God and our Savior at all times in all things and in all places

 

President Monson wrote:

 

Thinking of the Savior fills us with gratitude.

It more powerfully increases the ability of the Holy Ghost to direct our lives.

It changes our behavior.

It opens our eyes to the needs of others.

It helps us to resist temptation and to repent.

Each of us has the ability to train and discipline our minds to more frequently remember Him.

In the Sacrament Prayers we read:

 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ,
O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ,

        

to bless and sanctify this bread
to bless and sanctify this wine

 

to the souls of all those who partake of it,
to the souls of all those who drink of it,

        

that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son,
that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them;

 

and witness unto thee,
that they may witness unto thee,

      

O God, the Eternal Father,
O God, the Eternal Father,

 

that they are willing to take upon them

the name of thy son,

and always remember him
that they do always remember him,

 

and keep his commandments which he has given them,
 

that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.
that they may have his Spirit to be with them.

 

Amen.

When we keep our sacramental covenants we are promised that we will always have his spirit to be with us.

We repent of our sins and we partake of the Sacrament in remembrance.  We are witnesses of Him and we are willing to take upon his name and always remember him, to keep His commandments that we may always have his spirit to be with us.

 

Every living thing has a spirit.  It was created and given a name and then “it was watched over to see that it was obedient.”  Our Father in Heaven watches over us to see that we are obedient.  He gives us trials that are experiences for our good.  To help us learn and grow and to become obedient..  He is watching over each and every one of us.   I bear my testimony that God loves you.  He knows your heart.  He knows your desires.  He knows what you are in need of before you even ask.  But you must ask and you must pray and you must seek his guidance.  Use the gifts that a loving Heavenly Father has given you.  Be aware of Satan's tactics.  Keep the Holy Ghost as your constant companion.  Seek for further light and knowledge.

 

Mathew 5:16 

 Let your light so shine before men,

that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.