Can You Find 15 Minutes a Day to Grow Closer to Jesus Christ?

Hello, can you find 15 minutes a day to grow closer to Jesus Christ? Here is an article from Family Share that outlines 5 ways to grow closer to Him.

http://familyshare.com/5-ways-to-grow-closer-to-jesus-christ 

Landmarks to Get Home

If you were dropped out in the middle of nowhere and someone told you to walk for a couple miles in one direction to see if you could make a fairly straight line, you could do it if you had something to focus on, right? For instance, in this picture with a tree, you could fix your eyes on the tree and walk directly toward it. As long as you could see the tree, you could walk toward it and your path would be fairly direct.

Suppose you were dropped out in the middle of a field and told the same thing. How would you make sure that you walked a straight line for miles? 

It would be very difficult if there were no landmarks of any kind. In fact, there was a study done by researchers* where people were dropped in the middle of nowhere on a cloudy day and told to walk in a straight line. They ended up walking in circles, and even crossed their own paths at several points. There were others who were dropped off on a sunny day with a clear landmark in the distance and told to walk a straight line toward that landmark, They were able to walk almost a straight line toward the landmark. 

If we have landmarks in our vision, we are able to walk toward them. If we have nothing to set our sights on, we can wander around aimlessly for a long time. 

For spiritual growth, we have been given landmarks by the Lord. He gave The Ten Commandments to the people of ancient days. He gave the Holy Bible for us to use. We have a church with inspired leaders to help guide us. We can ask in prayer for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We can pray directly to God, our Heavenly Father and close our prayer "in the name of Jesus Christ." We can seek other holy writings. These can be our landmarks to help us walk a straight path.

I testify to you that God lives. His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior of us all. He is the light and the way. He is the only way that we can return to our Father's presence in heaven. Whether we believe it, or see it right now, or not, this is fact and we cannot alter that fact no matter what we do. It is our responsibility to follow Him and do those things He has asked of us so that we can eventually become clean enough to enter into His presence. This is more of a reality than what we see around us every day. I promise. 

With love, I wish for you only the best, and comfort when you need it. I may not be there with you right now in person, but if my words ring true to you, then please pray that our Father in heaven will send to you a way to get those landmarks you need to return to His presence. Remember to close your prayer "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."  Jesus is our way back home.

Love.

*Sorry I cannot cite the study, but I heard this report from Elder Bednar, a very reliable source.

Come Back to Jesus All Ye Saints

If you have left the Lord's church, I would like to extend this invitation: Won't you please come back and re-jon us? We are not perfect, but we love you and we miss you! We also need the wisdom that you have gained by leaving and hopefully returning.

Here is President Gordon B. Hinckley's very last time he shared his testimony. How appropriate that he served his mission in the British Isles and he was permitted to share his last public testimony on earth in the British Isles!

Click here ------> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noDM2zmNy2c

We all loved President Hinckley. We know we could trust him and he would never be dishonest.

I know there have been things that you have found on the internet and by talking with other people. Many of you feel that even if the church started out on the right foot that now it is not being led by Jesus Christ.

If this is you, consider two things. Let's recognize that the the world is managed by the Lord. In our miniscule understanding of the world, we cannot assume that our view is what is really going on. As we learn more, our new perspectives help us gain greater understanding of what is real. I testify to you that when Jesus said he is the light of the world, and he is our savior, that He was telling the absolute truth, We cannot wrap our heads around that. It's way bigger than we are. We have no clear understanding why we even need a savior. Yet, that is all true.

Over the past few years, I have been watching videos of the near-death experiences of people who were atheists. They talk about Jesus and describe him the same way he talked about Himself as was recorded in the Bible. You can find these yourself online. Some of the ones on Christian shows seem hokey, but there are some that make you say "wow!" 

Another thing is that there is a girl named Akiane who was a young child of atheist parents when she started drawing and painting pictures of a man she said was Jesus. You can also search her art to see the pictures. She had never been taught about Jesus and started these art renderings at a very young age. Pretty credible.

There are evidences all over the place that Jesus is who he claimed to be. Let's first recognize that he is the Master, and is on the same team with God, our father. They have the same purpose - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

So, if Jesus and God are in control of the world, then most likely they will make sure that faithful followers of a church with his name will not be lead astray.

What is the second thing to consider? Maybe you messed up. Maybe you disobeyed and then the Holy Spirit had to leave you as a constant companion. So, maybe everything you are trying to figure out now is just made-up stuff. That is not a good place to be in. Some people say that they felt like they were in a bubble when they lived the Gospel. Well, yes, that bubble was your protection. It was meant to be a blessing. What is real IS the eternal perspective. Every thing else is mortal and has an ending. So, may I please remind you of what you need to do? Repentance.  Four steps: 1) Recognize that you messed up and are now walking away from the Lord instead of toward Him. 2) Ask forgiveness. 3) Make things right. 4) Make a sincere vow to change your ways.  Is any of that easy? Oh no, it sure is not. It may take time and a series of trials and errors until you get it right. But please walk toward your Savior and not away from him.  He loves you enough to sacrifice his life for you. Isn't that just too much to comprehend?

Please come back, dear brothers and sisters. Nobody meant to offend you. We are all just doing what we can to be good. And we all know how hard that is!!   We love you. We want you to come back. We don't care if you have done stupid things because we all have. Please come back to Jesus.

And by the way, if I didn't love you simply because you are my brother or sister, I wouldn't take my time to write this blog. I love you and I haven't met you in this mortal life. Can you imagine how much our elder brother, Jesus, loves you? He is giving you a gazillion chances to come back to Him. Please do it now.

Love.

Jesus Stories from the Holy Bible

Jesus Christ Bible Stories

Someone showed this link to me yesterday. I am very impressed with the quality of the productions and the script stayed true to the written word in the Holy Bible. These are good short videos for anyone learning about Jesus or anyone who wants to get a clear perspective on how the stories might have been in real life. Also, anyone who wants to learn English might benefit from watching these because the actors speak slowly and clearly.

Because they are so true to the Holy Bible, these videos could be used in teaching about Jesus in Sunday School or at any Christian services or meetings. They could surely benefit missionary work in all parts of the world.

The Lord Jesus Christ atoned for us so that we could all return to live with Him eternally. He must surely love us. Our Heavenly Father must also love us more than we can imagine, because He allowed His Son to come to earth and do that for us.

Enjoy learning more about Our Savior!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bible-videos/id475327718?mt=8

Jesus Christ is Our Savior and Redeemer

In a movie made 60 years ago called THE ROBE, a fictional Roman is converted to become a Christian. The movie is a classic and it is very dramatic. It is seen through the point of view of the Romans, which in this movie represents "the world", as opposed to the kingdom of Christ. For the photo to go with this post, I chose the closing scene of the movie. In this scene, the Roman tribune who has been converted, a fictional character named Marcelus, goes before the Emperor Caligula who really lived and is not a fictional character.

Even today many people struggle with the idea of a kingdom of God. Is there a God that is over all the earth? If so, is he a loving god or a god to be feared? Who is this Jesus? If he is the Son of God, then why is there so much trouble in the world? SO many questions that seem to be left unanswered to people who will not take the time to study the scriptures and pray with faith.

Are we not all creating our own kingdoms by the choices we make? For instance, I choose to not drink alcoholic drinks. That's my choice. Do I have friends who drink? Yes, I do. Do I spend a lot of time with them drinking? No, I don't. Are they welcome into my home? Yes, of course. Will I offer them alcoholic drinks at my home? Nope. Do they expect to be served alcoholic drinks when they come over? No, they don't. And everybody is ok with that. That is an example of one aspect of my kingdom - no alcoholic drinks. Other examples include the humor I choose to laugh at, the level of modesty in the way I dress, the type of music I choose, the way I treat others, etc. All the choices I make create my kingdom.

Jesus Christ also has his kingdom. He chooses to do everything his Father wants him to do. He has chosen to ascribe to what his Father has done in the Kingdom of God and Christ continues to teach us how to be a part of that kingdom if we want to. It is totally up to us. He has given us the scriptures to use as a written manual. He has given us commandments to use as guidelines. He even promises that the Holy Spirit will reveal truths to us if we seek them.

Jesus Christ has given us an open invitation to be a part of his Kingdom. The doors of his kingdom are open to every single person who has ever lived or who will live on this earth. We can open the doors and come toward Christ, or we can choose to back away and do something different. He doesn't change. When he came to earth and taught his followers he was the same as he is today. He lives.

We are the ones who must choose. We can choose to be fully engulfed with the world and its empty promises or we can be fully engaged and make covenants to live in a kingdom that Christ has invited us to be a part of. He has even asked us to help him make it grow.

Who is on the Lord's side?

And yes, Jesus does love you. He always will. His love is not based on your behavior. He loves you unconditionally and waits with open arms for you to come to him. I promise you this.

Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic, Atheist, Everyone

It does not matter what religion you ascribe to, Jesus Christ gave his life for you. He prepared a way for you to have immortality and eternal life. He atoned for your mistakes if you will only turn to Him and repent and strive to become a better person.

If you do not follow Jesus, then you will not belong to him. You will be on your own on the day when judgment before God is presented. I wish I could say it is different, but that is the way it is.

Look to Jesus. Come follow Him. He loves you more than you or I can comprehend.

Akiane, the Daughter of an Atheist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmm-0-Rdxo8&feature=player_embedded#!

Jesus Christ is the Literal Son of God, Our Heavenly Father

Around the world yesterday, we celebrated one of the greatest events of the history of the planet. We celebrated the birth of the literal son of God, Our Heavenly Father. God loved us, so he sent his only begotten son. With a mortal mother and an immortal father, Jesus is the only one who could overcome death and pave the way for all of us. This was done because of love for each and every one of us.

When you read this and you feel a special feeling, this is your spirit recognizing that it is reality in an eternal perspective. The Holy Spirit is there to testify to you of all things that are true according to God's truth.

With faith, go forward. Act on all things that bring you to Jesus Christ. He wants to be your advocate. When you have made mistakes in the past, Jesus Christ steps forward to offer mercy which satisfies justice. This is true, but difficult to understand why it has to be this way. That is where our faith comes into play. In the next week or so, I will be posting some thoughts about repentance, if you would like to check back.

My heart is full as I write this. I feel like I am writing this for somebody who is really searching for information about Jesus. If it is you, dear reader, know that Jesus does live this day and He looks forward to a reunion with you. Please live worthy of His presence, so this can happen. Do good wherever you live and talk to God, Our Father in Heaven. Close your prayer "in the name of Jesus Christ." It will be sure to be heard.

With love.

Paul Wrote from Athens to The Saints in Thessalonica About 60 AD-ish

Today I saw this in the New Testament of the Holy Bible and I thought it was very cool. This is part of a letter that Paul the Disciple of Jesus Christ wrote while he was in Athens to the Saints in Thessalonica. This was probably around 60 AD or so. I like it because it gives them specific things to be aware of.

I like how he said to not do anything to quench the Holy Spirit. You know those few times when you are deep in prayer and you feel like God himself is just right there with you? Those are the times you are feeling the Holy Spirit. You can also sense the presence of the Holy Spirit at other times, too. 

I also like how he asks the brethren in Thessalonica to pray for them. That shows that Paul was very humble, even though he was a strong leader.

The reference for this is 1 Thessalonians 5:14-25 found in the New Testament of the Holy Bible.

14 Now we exhort you, brethren, ^awarn them that are ^bunruly, ^ccomfort the ^dfeebleminded, ^esupport the ^fweak, be patient toward all men.

15 See that none ^arender ^bevil for evil unto any ^cman; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

16 ^aRejoice evermore.

17 ^aPray without ceasing.

18 In every thing give ^athanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

19 ^aQuench not the ^bSpirit.

20 Despise not prophesyings.

21 ^aProve all things; hold fast that which is good.

22 ^aAbstain from all ^bappearance of ^cevil.

23 And the very God of peace ^asanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

25 Brethren, pray for us.

With love.

Who Is Jesus?

Thank you for reading my blog. I can see from my stats analysis that some of you are from places where Jesus is not usually taught or talked about very much. From this analysis I realize that I should not assume that you have the same knowledge about Jesus that I have. In my next few posts, I will share with you what I know about Jesus Christ.

You will see that Jesus is greater than any other person that lived on the earth, because he is more than just a person. He is our Savior and the way by which we can have immortality and eternal life.

We can read more about him in the New Testament of The Holy Bible. Here is one website which has the King James Version of the Holy Bible: http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke?lang=eng This is a link to The New Testament in the Holy Bible. This book was written by Luke, a physician who traveled with Paul. Paul started out being active persecuting Christians until one day on his way to Damascus to persecute some more Christians, he saw a vision of the Lord Jesus. This event changed the course of his life. Paul then did a 180 degree turn and traveled to preach about Jesus. This all happened around 60 AD.

When I was a child, I learned about Jesus at a private religious school I attended. Later, I learned that He is the one who agreed to make an atonement for our sins and overcome death so that we could all choose to return to Our Heavenly Father. He was born to Mary over 2000 years ago. He died at the early age of 33 when he was crucified on a wooden cross. The most significant part is that just before his death, he took upon himself all of our sins. I do not know how he did this, but I know he was allowed to do it. The pain was so incredible that he sweated blood. He died on the cross the next day and three days later he was resurrected, meaning his body was whole and his spirit and his body were reunited. Only Jesus was able to overcome death and he did this for each one of us. It is hard to understand how he can know each one of us, but He literally knows each one of us by name. When we pray to God the Father in Jesus' name, our prayers are heard. Guaranteed.

In death our spirit separates from our bodies. However, because of the great sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, we will one day be resurrected. Our bodies and our spirit will reunite and be together in a healthy state forever after that.

So, is Jesus just another great prophet? I submit to you that he is greater and more powerful than any person who has ever lived on this earth. At some point, we must each recognize what Jesus did and that he is our advocate with our Father in heaven.

....more later......

With love.

"I Am a Child of God" a Song for Children, Or is It?

There is a song for children called "I Am a Child of God". The third verse goes like this:

I am a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will
I'll live with hime once more.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

By: Naomi Randall and Mildred Pettit

We have been given the ten commandments and the two greatest commandments. We know that Jesus loves each and every one of us so much that he laid down his life and took it up again. He also atoned for our sins by taking our sins upon himself so that his mercy could compensate for justice. In so doing, he became our advocate with the Father. We can pray directly to God our Father in the name of Jesus Christ if we are on his same team.

More simply said, Jesus is literally our brother and our Savior. Our Father in Heaven is also his Father. They both love us so much. They love it when we pray because they love to hear from us, their family. It is so simple that even children can understand it.

With love.

What I Learned or Was Reminded of While Watching Videos of the Experiences People Have Had with the Life after Earth Life

Yesterday I took the time to watch several YouTube videos about people’s experiences with near death experiences (NDE). I learned or was reminded of several things. And there were common experiences that were brought up over and over again.

The people who have experienced NDEs all expressed that they felt love. They felt so much love that they did not want to come back to earth. For various reasons, they were told warmly but firmly that they had to come back. One little boy had to come back because God was answering his father’s prayer to bring him back. Others were told that they had not yet completed their mission here in life.

It is an interesting thing about the “mission” in life: apparently you cannot be told what it is or else you would hurry and do it so that you could return back to God’s presence right away. In completing your mission too quickly you would miss out on learning experiences, which is another reason we are here in our mortal bodies on earth.

When they spoke of meeting Jesus, they said they already knew him and that they were remembering him from before. They all confirmed that God is good. They confirmed that Jesus in all his glory is brighter than the noon day sun and that he is a being of light even though he is in the form of a man with arms and legs, a face, etc. (The little boy said his eyes were sea blue.) The common thread of love and attention from our Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus, confirmed for us that everything happens for our good, even though we do not recognize it at the time. During each of their near death experiences, they were shown things which uniquely made them feel comfortable: Things for which they had a reference point.

They said that there were people and ancestors “on the other side” to greet them and that they were not allowed past a certain point. In two instances, their tale was the same; that Jesus put his hand up and firmly said, “No”. Indicating that they could not pass a certain point. However, neither of them knew what would happen if they did cross that point. They assumed that if they did, then they would not be able to return to earth.

Communication between their spirits and the other beings they saw was not by any particular language. They could understand, even though they were not receiving knowledge through their native language. They said it was like they just knew things - things that they could never begin to understand on earth like complex math and music.

Every one of them expressed that they had a body and that they could feel it - like their own earthly bodies only a lot lighter. In fact, one petite little lady said that her earthly body feels heavy and clay-like now. She also said that she had a dim light in her spiritual body which intensified as she learned more of spiritual things on her NDE journey. They talked as if they had all the same senses that we have on earth. One lady is blind on earth, so it took her a little while to adjust to being able to see: She had to figure things out. They described feelings within themselves as they experienced emotions and movement. One lady said that when she tried to touch the arm of the nurse working on her, her hand passed through the nurse’s arm with no response from the nurse. And several of them mentioned that when they tried to talk or shout to the medical staff, nobody could hear them. So, it seems that in the spirit they could touch other spiritual things, but they could not touch or communicate with earthly things.

Music and math were mentioned a lot. Light was mentioned a lot. Several people said there were colors that they had never seen before here on earth. A couple of them mentioned that even the blades of grass were shining with light and one girl said that the grass was happy she was walking on it.

The little boy was only 4 when he had his near death experience and he said that Heavenly Father was huge. He said God was so big that he could hold the earth in the palm of his hand.

Travel and time were completely different than what we are accustomed to on earth. They said they could travel very quickly and as soon as they thought about someplace, they were instantaneously headed toward the thing that they had just thought about. When they wanted to go slower they could. They all said there is not time in a linear fashion like we know it here. One lady tried to explain her perception of time and said it was not linear, but it was like layers of dimensions all happening congruently.

Several times I heard that they saw their life in “review” and as they were watching their life events, they not only saw their own perception of what was happening, but could understand and feel the emotions of all the other people involved in that event.

A couple of people were being interviewed and asked how they knew it was not something other than a near death experience. They had different answers. The blind lady said it could not have been something she imagined because she was born blind and had no idea or concept of what sight was like. Another lady said she had experienced hallucinations when she had lost a lot of blood in childbirth and it was nothing similar. They were sure that this was nothing earthly. They had a difficult time trying to explain their experiences in words.

One man was saying that he is an intellectual here on earth and when he had his near death experience he was very surprised to learn that eternal things are not based on intellectual pursuits at all. He was chuckling as he explained that his intellectual interest was not necessary or even considered over there.

In summary, then, we know from these NDE people that Jesus is alive and well and living in heaven with God, our Heavenly Father. They are two separate beings with a form similar to ours except theirs is filled with an extremely higher intensity of light. There is a place called heaven which is ruled by love and there is a place of pain and suffering which is ruled by fear. One lady said that the people in the horrible place knew they were stuck there and their only hope is that nobody else would have to come there and experience that awful state of misery and literal pain.

We also know that we are loved. In hearing all these stories and experiences combined with my own prior research, it was again confirmed in my mind that God and Jesus know us and we know them. We cannot remember them right now because we are here, away on assignment, to accomplish some goals. We are loved beyond our comprehension and even in our darkest hour we are not alone. We are all in the same family with God our father. He resides in a luminescent place that many called Heaven. (I think it is nice that the word is so close to “haven”.)

The most important thing for us to do on this earth is to accept Jesus and what he did for us. I know that sounds trite and overused. From what the NDE people said, that is the most important thing to realize. The next action step for us is to share this message with all other people that we can so that they can make the choice to accept Jesus. It sounds too simple and we like to make things more complex than that. But that is it: Love Jesus and God and tell others about them.

I find this topic very interesting and as I listen to their NDE stories, it feels like somewhere in the far recesses of my brain, I recollect and can envision some of the things they speak of. I hope to have time to hear more stories from people of other cultures and countries. The ones I heard were so far were all in English.

I would like to mention that I think it is awesome that these people are coming forth in the media to share their stories which can now be added to the accounts of prophets in The Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon, two books that I find very informative about Elohim, God our Heavenly Father and Jehovah, also known as His Son and our eldest brother, Jesus Christ. They both have many other names and titles by which they are known throughout the history of the earth.

If you are interested in hearing more or have information on the topic to share, please contact me via email at DoesJesusLoveMe@gmail.com to give me your email address. I will let you know if I learn anything further. (FYI, I’m only using this email account for this and will not pass your email information to anyone else.)