Principle 2: The Lord's Strength and Grace can Help us Accomplish all Things

PRINCIPLE 2

In the strength of the Lord, we can accomplish all things.

It may be hard, really hard, requiring extraordinary effort, time, patience, prayer and obedience,

 but we CAN do it

As we EXERCISE FATIH in Jesus Christ and His teachings we realize His LIMITLESS POWER to accomplish what He asks us to do.   TRUE FAITH has ENORMOUS POWER.  

Steps to unleash that power:

1. OBEY willingly and consistently- we must practice those truths/principles in which we have faith.
2. patiently look for  CONFIRMATION- It comes as we consistently live it through feelings of peace, stirrings, or openings of new truth.

The Lord gives us capacity to understand and prove through personal experience the truthfulness of His teachings.

Why was Joseph Smith able to do that which was beyond his personal capacity?  ( How can we accomplish beyond our capacity?)

1. POWERFUL TESTIMONY
2. OBEDIENCE and FAITH
3. UNWAVERING DETERMINATION to do HIS WILL

HE PRACTICE PERSONAL DISCIPLINE

#1- Compliance above all else:

personal desires

convenience

other's opinions

it is IMPERATIVE that we STRENGTHEN our understanding of the Atonement to make it an UNSHAKEABLE FOUNDATION

*BENEFIT: Understanding of the Atonement brings CONFIDENCE in times of trial and PEACE in moments of turmoil

This life is a about learning how to control our bodies with our spirits- When we use our body is the way he had decreed we will:

1. Grow in strength and capacity
2. Avoid transgression
3. Be abundantly blessed

That you can accomplish good far beyond what seems possible to your mortal understanding is a certainty! This is dependent on:

1. our OWN understanding of truth
2. our OWN application of divine laws
3. our OWN spiritual confirmations'

LEARNING MUST LEAD TO PRACTICE! then the witness or testimony will come.

PRICE of a TESTIMONY (comes line upon line)

1. Faith
2. Time
3. Consistent Obedience
4. Willingness to Sacrifice

BLESSINGS of doing this

1. Discover truths that will IGNITE your spirit
2. Understand what it means to be a DIVINE CHILD of God
3. VISION will be generated, COMMITMENT will be instilled in your heart
4. INSPIRATION
5. POWER beyond your own capacity

You can qualify through that divine power to be instruments in the hands of God to accomplish what you could not do alone.

MY THOUGHTS:

So much of this is about consistent obedience and surrendering our will over to God.  The past 10 months these two things have weighed heavily on my mind.  How can I be more consistent?  How can I really consecrate all that I am to the Lord?  How do I give up that last part of my will that I am always trying to hold back?  How do I trust in Him completely?  These are questions we all need to constantly be asking ourselves.  This is a process that takes time.  Time to undo old habits and time to establish new and better ones.  As we make those steps and display our commitment to God he can bless us.  Bless us with strength, help, and greater light and knowledge. Those blessings are often waiting there on the precipice to be poured down upon us if we will only display that commitment and humility and begin to make those changes.  Personal discipline is key.  I have been impressed as I have studied that this life is a chance for us to learn how to control a physical body.  Before we came here I believe that our spiritual wills were very much aligned with God's.  We wanted what he wanted.  But, in order to become more like him we needed a body.  That body had very strong appetites, passions, sensations, and emotions.  In order to become like God, we needed to have complete spiritual control over that body.  How could we possibly expect to inherit all that He has if we did not have that control.  To be given ultimate power without control would have been disastrous.  So this life became a time for us to learn, practice and prove ourselves.  As we put off the natural man and turn to God, as we surrender our will to His, and we make sacrifices to self in favor of spiritual growth we gain that spiritual strength over our bodies.  As we display that control, the Lord has more confidence in us.  He trusts us with more responsibility, more inspiration and more power to accomplish His will.