Faith and Prayer

Hi Again!!
Somethings have been on my mind a lot recently namely faith and prayer. These two principles are interconnected in many ways.
First off, we show our faith by praying. This shows our Heavenly Father that we do believe He is there and that He can hear us. In the book of Enos we find a remarkable story about the power of prayer. Enos prayed all day and into the night for forgiveness of his sins. After a time it is granted unto him. Verse 8 tells us how it was done, "And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ..." Here again is a way that they are connected.
To receive a remission of one's sins is to become whole again through the power of Christ's atonement. We gain access to this through prayer. It is a part of the "ask and ye shall receive" principle found throughout the scriptures.
Jumping more to faith. We are taught a lot about the principle of faith in Alma 32:21, "And now as I said concering faith - faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore, if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." We can be told certain things are true or correct our whole lives, for various reasons. But without exercising faith, and asking we will never know for sure.
One last thought. President Gordon B. Hinckley taught, "Of all our needs, I think the greatest is an increase of faith." The power of faith is real. It can and will lead to a perfect knowledge of things. Likewise, prayer is an incredible gift that we have been given. It will help guide us in everything that we do. By even exercising the smallest particle of faith, in kneeling and asking our Heavenly Father a question, blessings and answers will come.

Enduring to the End

Hey there!! I figured that starting at the end, is a great way to begin my blog that will hopefully last for a while.

Enduring to the End

What does that even mean??? The word endure means to suffer (something painful) patiently. When something is said to endure it is said to last forever, or at least of a great length of time. If something, like a statue or a painting, can endure then why can't we as individual's endure?

In the LDS church enduring to the end is the fourth principle of our gospel. It comes after we make the covenant of baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In 2 Nephi 31:14-20 (found in the Book of Mormon) we read,

"14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.

 15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.

16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.

 17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

 18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

 19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

 20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of  hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

These few simple verses teach a great deal about this important principle. I know that as you participate in and follow commandments of Jesus Christ that your life will be blessed. I have seen it happen in so many ways. We may not always recognize our blessings for what they are, but God always blesses those that keep His commandments.