Application Activity

The first talk I chose to study was 'Unselfish Service' by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve and it interested me because I strive to give whatever service I can to those who are in need of it and in want of my help. 

From this section, I learned that I often deny myself small pleasures to make sure that more important things or people are taken care of and have their needs met whether I sacrifice my time or just things I want to do or have in order to meet the needs of others. Throughout my life, I have noticed that I have this natural affinity to want to help others and I strive to do what I can for others even if others do not believe I can be of much help. Some of the most significant service I have done is that which benefits others close to me whether it be in life or on the other side of the veil.

The principle of unselfish service applies to me because I was given the opportunity to live that principle not only during my mission, but also in a very major experience that happened almost immediately after I was done my mission. After my mission was finished in April of 2014, I felt the Spirit telling me to go live with my family again and I did so even though I did not understand why the Spirit would send me back to such difficult circumstances, as my father's choice to drink was making life hard for them. However, I did give up the relative comfort and safety that I had gained in Lethbridge and humbly went back to Raymond, determined to seek God's help in enduring all things well. The reason for my needed return became apparent at the end of July 2014 when my dad ended up being diagnosed with a rare cancer that was in an untreatable stage.

Shortly after returning from my mission, I was called to serve in the temple and assist with proxy sealings and that opportunity to serve those who could not help themselves gave me a chance to understand the Atonement and Plan of Salvation better while I was preparing to bid my father farewell from the confines of mortality. The whole experience really told me that God cares about what happens to all of His children and He will ensure that they are taken care of even if He can only do so in the next life.

Changes I will make as a result of this talk are realizing that service is ALWAYS needing to be done and that I can't always have the idea that if I don't do it, someone else will take the time to make sure it gets taken care of. I need to need to have the frame of mind that what if I am the one who is supposed to be the service giver and the receiver of blessings that will come as a result of my service? As a result of the experience with my dad and being led home by the Spirit two months before, I have learned that life is too short for what-ifs and regrets, so when we are prompted to act, we should act right away and however we are prompted to act and the Lord will show us the reason why. 

My second selection was the talk 'If Thou Endure It Well,' by Marvin J. Ashton.

From this talk, I learned that trials happen at every point in our lives and that there is at least a part of us that asks why and how we ended up being deserving of such a thing. We wonder how we have angered the Lord or if we are being punished for some unknown sin. In actuality, however, we are experiencing trials as a test of our faith and also being prepared to receive great blessings unless we have actually made a bad decision and not repented of it, as a trial from that would most likely be a consequence of a poor choice. 

 

Mortality is one giant trial and also having smaller trials to deal with may prove overwhelming. We may end up becoming bitter and frustrated at the Lord even though we know He will help us to endure whatever trials test our faith or serve as a consequence of a poor choice. Trials give us strength and courage to resist adversity and we can become like Christ by embracing strength and courage through trials as Christ did. We are not better than Christ and we can only become better by His love and by continually utilizing the Atonement.

Changes I will make as a result of this talk are just focusing on the fact that the Lord is preparing blessings for me as I continue to endure and I just need to be more patient than I am. Sometimes, I get very frustrated that I haven't received as many blessings as I would like to have as a reward for all that I have endured and I shouldn't, as trials will only be but a small moment and promised blessings will last forever. I will also become more aware of the fact that God is already merciful towards me, as He gave me the Atonement so that I could release my sins to Him and have opportunity to grow through the many experiences He has and will give me. I also will strive to remember that even though life can be very hard sometimes, there is much more to be gained than lost by listening to what the Spirit has to say and acting accordingly in a faithful and prompt manner. I also need to get better at remembering that I need to continually push forward, as if I just stand still and let life pass me by, I am only allowing myself to regress into a fallen shell.

The third talk I chose to read was 'The Merciful Obtain Mercy' by President Deiter F. Uchtdorf.

From this talk, I learned that if we are kind to others who offend us and forgive them even if we don't think they deserve it, we will invite the Spirit to be with us and find it easier to find and accept forgiveness for our own imperfections and bad choices that we repent of. Being unforgiving is like eating poison and allowing it to kill us.

When we feel God's love and truly understand that it is for us, we are more likely to want to share that love with others and do all we can to show our love of Christ. When we truly understand our value to God and Christ, we can understand how important it is to cherish what they teach by cherishing the virtue that will help us to get and keep the Spirit of God with us. Bitterness over how others live their lives and what they may have over what we have does no good and repels the Spirit, so when we focus on what we don't have instead of on our blessings, we choose to isolate ourselves from blessings.

Satan wants us to focus on comparing what we don't have to what others may have so we develop a resentment that will stop us from seeing that they are also a child of God. When resentment is allowed to grow and fester like an untreated cancer, people lose themselves to blinding anger and quite often will do things to others that will have great, often very serious consequences that could follow them through life and even into eternity. Anger and resentment can be the cancer of the Spirit and eventually kill it unless the Atonement is remembered and provides a calming influence before action is taken in the name of anger that cannot be taken back. 

 

Based upon my learning experience with the third talk, I will learn to let go of the feeling of being offended quicker than I do and simply forgive my offenders quicker so that I can move on. I can choose to be offended and I can also choose to move on through letting go and forgiving quickly when others offend me. Being willing to let go, let God, and let myself move forward will allow me to benefit from the process of conversion that comes along with utilizing the Atonement to its fullness. I will make a better effort to be at peace with myself and how I life my life and love myself enough to have the Spirit so that it guide me to help others when the opportunity arises to do so. Though I may have difficult experiences with others and find it difficult to forgive, I need to let go of our grievances and let Christ heal us through the Atonement. It is an earnest goal of mine to let go and let God a lot quicker than I do when someone offends me.

I have a disability that often requires me to put in a great deal of effort in order to accomplish things where others may have to put in very little or no effort to accomplish the same tasks. When others put very little if any effort into something and expect to get by or be rewarded on barely any work while I work hard and it produces a smaller result, I often become upset that I work so hard and yet gain so little from it. Seeing others put very little effort into things and then get heaps of praise for great accomplishments that they didn't appear to work very hard for makes me frustrated because I put so much work into everything I do and don't often feel like I get enough praise for my efforts.

I need to remember that the Lord applauds the best effort that people put forth whether it be a very little effort or a very great effort. The Lord looks at the heart of a person and if their heart's intent is to succeed without much effort, they will only end up hurting themselves in the long run because while the Lord looks kindly upon all efforts and the intent of people's hearts, life is not so kind to those who have not only never learned how to give an honest effort, but have also never tried to apply it.

Many prophets go and have gone by the belief that an honest day's work leads to an honest day's pay and that is also true in terms of efforts people put into living their lives; if they don't put in the work, the benefits are sparse. I see many around me who do little with their lives and expect to do great things based on their name or other factors in which they may see themselves as deserving of such honors, but I don't need to worry about the efforts of other people as much as I do. I need to focus on myself and I will make a better effort to focus on what I am doing with my time and what kind of effort I am putting into things. If I give of my best self, the Lord will surely bless me according to what is His will at the time.

Discussion Board Responses

To give back doesn't always require the help of the almighty dollar, it can simply mean a donation of time and talents to bring joy to others. Something as simple as volunteering and helping others who are in need of it can be a way to give back and show gratitude for all of the help that God and Jesus Christ have given us. We do not need to wait until we have money to give back, we can give as the widow did with her mite and simply give of what we have that others might have joy from our acts of love.

Time is the most valuable resource we have and the one that we seem to have the most trouble using wisely, but we shouldn't look down on ourselves or others over that. Admitting that we have a trouble managing time and making a strong effort to improve upon our use of time is admitting that we are teachable about how to invest it rather than waste it. Even if all we can do is give small portions of our time to serving others, the Lord will bless us and enable us to have time for what is important to us.

We may not all have access to unlimited money, but we can do good with what we have been given and appreciate enough to use. The scriptures clearly say that all of us are given gifts and talents and we are also given the choice to do what we will with them. We do not need copious amounts of money to give of our time and talents to make the lives of others less of a burden, we just need the desire and courage to step outside of our comfort zones and turn our weaknesses into strengths by using them for the betterment of others. The Atonement has given us the ability to walk away from our sins, but it is us and us alone who chooses where we will walk to or if we will walk away from our sins at all. When free of our sins, we can find and us our gifts for good if we believe in ourselves enough to act in faith.