Continue in Patience

D&C 67
12 Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind.
13 Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected.

Sure, just be patient. How? Especially when you have roadblocks that come up that you can't control? Depression and hormones for example. Those are roadblocks that others seldom seem to forgive you for. Doesn't matter if you're in a mood, you still have to be patient. And if you're not you should feel guilty because you know better. Verse 10 of the same section of D&C reads " inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual."
Can removing jealousies and fears help me be patient? I think so. A lot of times we're not patient because we're either jealous of someone else getting something faster or we're afraid we'll lose the opportunity. Makes sense. 

So what about when others don't seem to be patient with your impatience? 

Ideally the best response:

Something that I have a problem with is simply smiling and saying, 'you're right, i'm sorry.' There's really very little someone can say back to you when you give that response. Probably because it's not what they were expecting. It's hard to humble yourself enough to just let the injustice go. 

If you can, the greater challenge is to not hold a grudge. It's one thing to forgive but more important is to forget. 

So in summary: avoid jealousies and fears, smile and wave then let it go. 

So what stops me from doing that? What holds me back from being the first to approach the opposing party and apologize? Pride maybe? I don't want to appear weak. Maybe i'm afraid of getting more hurt. That they'll think that because they 'got away' with it this time then they can do it again. Sometimes I just don't trust myself to say the right thing. I fear i'll make the situation worse. 

There are those jealousies and fears. Man, those are hard to avoid.
Seriously just stumbled upon this perfect quote by Hans B. Ringger from April 1994 General Conference: "The visible expression of doing God’s will often results in personal cheerfulness—a silent, sunny brightness and a joy for life, feelings which are sung about in Psalms. We live, however, not without adversity and possible moments of deep despair. Our surroundings entice us to the unenduring, to injustice and disobedience. If we want to prevail, we must act in accordance with gospel principles. We cannot ask for more than to find the true meaning of life. “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matt. 10:39). We are promised that we will receive plentifully and gain eternal life when we give up those things the Lord requires of us."

I have nothing to lose but everything to gain by being the first one to apologize even when I don't believe I am in the wrong. By doing that I am living the gospel principle of forgiveness and humility which will ultimately result in my personal cheerfulness. 

Hakuna Matata

There is so much to worry about these days. The world can be a dark place. I mean, who knew that eating hot dogs could give you cancer? How many people share those facebook posts of 15 foods you never knew were unhealthy? Gosh, is anything safe to eat?

Did I mention that the world is going to end this month? As much as I'm looking forward to that event I hope it doesn't because I just finished my Halloween costume and I'd really like to wear it before the world ends.

People stress over everything. The government, the economy, personal finances, food, exercise, your personal body image, social status, the rapid decline in morality.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be concerned about these issues. If no one cared about politics then where would we be? Probably under the thumb of a dictator. (Some might say that's already the case.) As long as you have the right perspective you can adequately address important issues and yet remain positive. I'm by no means an expert but i'm trying.

One thing that bugs me and countless other individuals is weight. Everybody wants to be skinny. Some will go to unbelievable lengths to achieve this. I was beginning to believe I needed to if I ever want to lose weight as well. This conflicts with one of my life goals however: No regrets.

If anyone's seen 'Last Holiday' starring Queen Latifah, this illustrates my point. Latifah plays Georgia Byrd, a woman who has spent her life being so careful she never allowed herself to really enjoy life. Then she is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and is told she has three weeks to live. Later at home she flips through a scrapbook she has made illustrating places she always wanted to go, people she always dreamed of meeting and food she cooked but never let herself eat.

"I should have ate that!" She sobs looking at beautiful dishes she had concocted.

I don't want to be one of those people looking back on life with tears in my eyes saying "I should have ate that!" There's a jewel in every breath and I intend to find it if I can.

So how do you balance enjoying life with being concerned about important issues? It won't do me any good to eat every chocolate cake in sight in search of enjoyment.

“In proper sequence, first comes the knowledge of God and his program, which is the way to eternal life, and then comes the knowledge of the secular things, which is also very important..." taught Spencer W. Kimball.

Recognizing priorities is vital to living a balanced and happy life.

The scriptures also teach us that 'men are that they might have joy' (2 Nephi 2:25).

If eating a slice of chocolate cake makes one happy, I don't think there's anything wrong with indulging every once in awhile. But should you gorge yourself at the expense of your own personal health and well-being? Probably not.

Watching movies can make you happy. Nothing wrong with them (the ones with appropriate content anyway, but that's another soap box). But should you spend hours on Netflix leaving little or no time for things like scripture study and family time? Nope.

One quote that I've always liked is 'If you put the Lord first everything will either fall into place or fall out of your life.' I have found that to be absolutely true.

When I make sure to allot significant time in my day to the pursuit of godliness I find I have time to accomplish everything else I need to.

The things that have had to fall out of my life aren't necessarily bad things. I don't juggle or go unicycling nearly as much since I've gotten married and started a family. Do I miss it? A little but frankly spending time with my family has become more important to me than pursuing my own personal hobbies. Another quote I enjoy is 'Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.' My ability to let the past go and live in the present while preparing for the future has stemmed from my putting my faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ first and then discerning where my talents are best spent.

Doing this takes the worry away for the future as well.
1 Nephi 22:17 reads: "Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire."

I love that. As long as we do our best we have nothing to worry about and nothing to regret because through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all the negative is swept away and all the unfairness is made right. We can have the perspective to choose the right priorities in life and see the good in whatever comes our way.

So what if the world ends this month? At least I had fun making my Halloween costume and grew in my creative talents.

My absolute favorite talk describes this philosophy amazingly well. It has become a frequent reference for me and I hope you will give it a read-through.

The Best is Yet to Be by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland