Failure: Requisite for success

I have been continually fascinated by success. By what is is, how our views and beliefs about ourselves and the world shape it, and most importantly, how we obtain it. It involves a great deal of self-analysis, goal setting, planning, and of course work. But there is an important aspect involved in the process of becoming whatever it is that we desire to be that causes us to fail. It causes us to fear our potential. That is failure.

Growth

The past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about the way we learn and grow. As missionaries we exercise for thirty minutes. I'm no body builder, but I've noticed that day after day I've gotten a bit stronger. My companion has a pull-up bar and so at the beginning of the month I started doing pull ups and chin ups each morning and evening.

Exact Obedience

2,060

In the Book of Mormon there is a story about two-thousand and sixty young men who go to war. Their parents had made oaths of pacifism and couldn't produce experienced warriors to aid their country's army. These 2,000 young boys offered their services to their nations efforts to defend their lands despite never having fought before. 

Doubt

Doubt is to consider something unlikely. It is a lack of trust and confidence in ourselves, our relationships with good people, and God. Doubt is a poison that flows from fear. It is immobilizing, crippling, and can lead to despair. It is rightly said that Doubt and faith cannot exist in the same mind at the same time. William Shakespeare wrote  'Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.'.

Doubt is the absolute inverse of faith.

A proper understanding of doubt, where it comes from and how it affects us, helps us to be able to recognise it in ourselves and to change. What I've found is that there are three main motivators for the actions or emotions of people. They are fear, duty, and love.

It is far easier to begin to doubt, or to allow doubt to grow, when we are motivated purely by fear. Our thoughts and motivations sound more like 'I have to go to work or else I'll be fired' or 'I have to get good grades or my dad will kill me'. Fear is a very selfish motivation, and causes us to focus a bit too much on ourselves.

I love the story in the Book of Mormon in Alma chapter 46. This is about a man named Amalikiah. He wanted to overthrow the government, and to be a king over the people. He was very sneaky and crafty and started to lead the people to his way of thinking. Many people were deceived into thinking they would be more free under his rule, others wanted power and social status. They were motivated by selfishness and pride.

Then Captain Moroni shows up. He was in charge of the Nephite armies when he was just 25 years old, and many people respected him. He put on his battle armour and made a banner where he wrote the reasons why the people had their freedom. He rallied the people around this banner that reminded them of their God, religion, freedom, and peace, wives, and children—

He called upon a higher motivation  within the people. He pulled on their desire for the welfare of others as opposed to themselves. This banner is called the title of liberty, and served as a rallying cry for the people for years to come. I even have a statue of Captain Moroni raising that banner on my desk.

As we learn to focus on our righteous, selfless desires instead of our own doubts and fears, our faith will increase and we will eventually forget that we even doubted at all.

"Let your faith roar so loud that you do not know what doubt is saying!"

Of Ships, Seas, and Storms

Like a... Dish. 

One of my favourite stories in the Book of Mormon is in the first few chapters of Ether. In this story there is a man known as the Brother of Jared. The Brother of Jared and his family were commanded by God to travel across the ocean. He was instructed by the Lord on how he should build boats to travel across the ocean. 

These boats were supposed to be air-tight, like a dish. The sides of the boat were tight, and so was the roof, so that it was like a barge. These barges were completely air-tight so they were submersible. They had plugs in the top so they could get air when they needed it. The only problem was that when they were inside and the holes were stopped there was no light! 

A Foundation for Faith, Pt 2

The Book of Mormon, a Foundation for Faith

"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 

The Church of Latter-Day Saints claims that the Book of Mormon is Scripture. But what is scripture in the first place? Scripture is defined as a body of text that is authoritative or sacred. To Mormons, the Book of Mormon is as authoritative as the Bible. This is because like the Bible, the writings contained came by the spirit of prophecy revelation to Prophets. Because the text and the doctrines contained came through the Holy Spirit that means the text is the word of God.

A Foundation for Faith

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

'The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture Comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel.' -Introduction to the Book of Mormon

"Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole"

There are a few stories in the scriptures that have always interested me. One is in The Book of Enos, the other is in the testimony of Mark, in the New Testament. These two stories demonstrate how the atonement can heal us both physically and spiritually.

Repentance, Sin, and Faith

Last week I talked a bit about how we can strengthen our faith. It comes slowly, step by step over time. We strengthen our faith by doing small everyday acts, like reading our scriptures, praying, and obeying the commandments. This week I've been thinking a lot about what happens when we don't do those things. What happens when stop reading our scriptures, or praying? What if we disregard the commandments that God has set?