Take a Moment to Pause
From our Most Recent Light in the Wilderness Discussion:
Nature is a Testament of God's Existence
"Nature's role is to arrest man's attention so he can hear the voice from Heaven."
Have you ever thought of the trees and skies and grasses finding joy in their creation because of their obedience to God? It's an intriguing thought.
Abraham 4:16-18 reads:
And the Gods organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; with the lesser light they set the stars also; And the Gods set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to cause to divide the light from the darkness. And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed (italics added).
"Until they obeyed." This implies that even the grass and trees, animals and waters were subject to learning obedience to the Lord. Just as a gardener plants a tree and then conditions it to grow the way he wants it to (using ropes or whatever), the Lord must have acted similarly in the creation of the world.
Awareness
"All things testify of Him, but we must become aware."
How do we become more aware of the God's hand in our lives, awakening our spiritual sensitivities? M. Catherine Thomas talks about the need to become more aware of our inner spirit.
We also need to spend time training our minds and bodies. For instance, I take yoga classes and love them. When I am faithfully attending my classes a couple of times a week, I notice I start to bend differently and even think differently in stressful situations. Training time outside of "the moment" will help us to become more aware when in the moment.
We also can start listening and acting more upon the thoughts we do receive. As we do so we can better attune ourselves with the Lord's plan in our lives. President Monson has honed this one perfectly!
Seeing Through Spiritual Eyes
The coolest part of this chapter, for me, was reading about a blind man, Jacques Lusseyran, and his experiences with discovering light within himself though he was immersed in a world of darkness. We all are in a darkened world. And yet, "When filled with the Holy Ghost we can see more than with the natural eye (p. 122)."
"[Lusseryan] discovered that the light he was able to perceive changed with his own inner emotional state (p. 124)." We, too, can attune ourselves so closely with Heaven that we see with more light. The interactions we have with others becomes more genuine and filled with love. The choices we make daily become more in alignment with God's purposes. Through training our spiritual minds, we can become more like our Savior.
"To slow down and let Nature distill within us begins to open the unseen world where the secrets of happiness flourish, where abound 'the mysteries and peaceable things - that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.'" - M. Catherine Thomas, 118
Nature is a Testament of God's Existence
"Nature's role is to arrest man's attention so he can hear the voice from Heaven."
Have you ever thought of the trees and skies and grasses finding joy in their creation because of their obedience to God? It's an intriguing thought.
Abraham 4:16-18 reads:
And the Gods organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; with the lesser light they set the stars also; And the Gods set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to cause to divide the light from the darkness. And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed (italics added).
Awareness
"All things testify of Him, but we must become aware."
How do we become more aware of the God's hand in our lives, awakening our spiritual sensitivities? M. Catherine Thomas talks about the need to become more aware of our inner spirit.
We also need to spend time training our minds and bodies. For instance, I take yoga classes and love them. When I am faithfully attending my classes a couple of times a week, I notice I start to bend differently and even think differently in stressful situations. Training time outside of "the moment" will help us to become more aware when in the moment.
We also can start listening and acting more upon the thoughts we do receive. As we do so we can better attune ourselves with the Lord's plan in our lives. President Monson has honed this one perfectly!
Seeing Through Spiritual Eyes
The coolest part of this chapter, for me, was reading about a blind man, Jacques Lusseyran, and his experiences with discovering light within himself though he was immersed in a world of darkness. We all are in a darkened world. And yet, "When filled with the Holy Ghost we can see more than with the natural eye (p. 122)."
"[Lusseryan] discovered that the light he was able to perceive changed with his own inner emotional state (p. 124)." We, too, can attune ourselves so closely with Heaven that we see with more light. The interactions we have with others becomes more genuine and filled with love. The choices we make daily become more in alignment with God's purposes. Through training our spiritual minds, we can become more like our Savior.
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