Finding Your Spiritual Pulse!

In my Book of Mormon class, my professor asked us all to find our pulse within 5 seconds. This task wasn't too hard, but then he asked us to find our spiritual pulse. In response, many of us didn't know where to turn to and discover our spiritual pulse. Those 5 seconds rolled by without a good thought on how to discover my spirituality at that time. My professor had us turn to Alma 5. He revealed unto us that this chapter contained more questions than anywhere else.

To find our spiritual pulse we needed to reflect on the rhetorical questions asked in Alma 5. I method to track our pulse through these verses is to answer each question from 1 to 10. Then you can graph your responses for your self to recognize the areas that need the most improvement and focus at this time.

I challenge you to try it. It was shared in class that the Book of Mormon is not a quote book but a handbook for life, so don't just read it like a history of others life that is separate from our own. Instead apply it to your daily interactions, challenges and situations it can truly bless your life.

Thank you for reading, and don't forget God loves you!

Love! Inspire! Smile!
Melissa Longhurst

Teachings about Christ

I've learned many things from studying the Book of Mormon this year in my class at BYU. Here are a few of the things I've learned or have studied once again...

1. Christ in Isaiah! If you simply skim through Isaiah and don't get much out of the teachings but a few abstract symbols you have missed the point, because "if you missed Christ in Isaiah you missed Isaiah." I am no expert, but I have begun to understand Isaiah through his patterns and repetition. I've learned to understand more each day by understanding that Isaiah is set up in symbolic repetition.

2.  Almost all things are through Jesus Christ. The church of Jesus Christ delegates to Christ. He is our redeemer, light, life, cornerstone, teacher, etc. Nearly everything leads us to Christ, but it's crucial to recognize that one thing is reserved for our God. We begin our prayers with something around the lines of "Dear Heavenly Father..." The prayers we offer are in the name of Jesus Christ, but we are talking with God our Heavenly Father creating an open line of communication between us.

3. Jesus is our Father! This might raise confusion and suspicion in the beginning but stay with me. A father helps create or gives the opportunity of a new life. Let's go through the fathers in each of our lives: Heavenly father gives a new spirit life in the beginning and your earthly father helps give you a new body creating a new life. Finally Jesus Christ gives you new life through the resurrection creating the opportunity for eternal life and a spiritual rebirth. Jesus Christ ultimately eternalizes our relationships with our earthly father (dad) and Heavenly Father.

4. Christ is always there for us. He's our brother, friend, comforter, father, etc. Christ understands each challenge you struggle with, temptation you face, and the overwhelming joy you can feel through the atonement. Talk with him, learn of him, and preach of his words and example. Help others find the joys in the gospel and the benefits and comfort felt from Jesus Christ.

"Love is the very essence of the gospel 

  and Jesus Christ is our exemplar"

I love you all! 

Melissa Longhurst

Gethsemane

The Atonement is for each one of us. For our sorrows, weaknesses, challenges, but also our pleasures, joys and simple delights. Children across the world have heard of the song "Gethsemane" in primary. This teaches simple truths and truly touches my heart.

My youngest brother, Eric, heard this song while visiting a different wards primary while on a trip. He loved the song, and after returning home he requested to sing it in primary by telling the primary chorister. This became a tender mercy in the lives of my family. For when Eric passed away recently after this experience my family was unaware of this song, "Gethsemane" and his interest in it. Informed shortly after, my older brother Kyle and I prepared to sing a duet of this song at the funeral with my sister-in-law at the piano.

This song brings comfort and love along with a greater understanding of Christ's sacrifice and suffering in the garden. "Gethsemane" brings a visual picture and story to accompany Jesus to the garden where he would bleed from every pore and suffer for the sins of all mankind. Through this process Christ creates the opportunity for us to return home to our father in heaven and see our loved ones again. Families are eternal!

Love, Melissa

P.S. Here's the lyrics and after there's a quote from the church website about "Gethsemane"

Jesus climbed the hill
To the garden still
His steps were heavy and slow
Love and a prayer
Took Him there
To the place only He could go

Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
So He went willingly
To Gethsemane

He felt all that was sad, wicked or bad
All the pain we would ever know
While His friends were asleep
He fought to keep
His promise made long ago

Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
So He went willingly
To Gethsemane

The hardest thing that ever was done
The greatest pain that ever was known
The biggest battle that ever was won
This was done by Jesus
The fight was won by Jesus

Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
So He gave His gift to me
In Gethsemane

Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
So He gives His gift to me
From Gethsemane

"Gethsemane lay still and dark; creation watched in silent awe

As Jesus suffered His Father’s will to satisfy unyielding law.

He knelt in earnest prayer alone. His friends, o’ercome with sorrow, slept.

Beneath the burden of grief, He groaned; beneath the weight of sin he wept,

And with his blood so freely spent, He bought my soul; He paid my debt.

What work of love was wrought for me in the stillness of Gethsemane!

“This bitter cup wilt thou remove? Yet not my will, but Thine be done.”

Behold His anguish, and weep anew for love of Christ, the sinless one.

With His wounds my own are healed; my ev’ry pain o’ercome in His,

My shame, my weakness, my grief untold find ranson in His priceless gift.

For with his blood so freely spent, He bought my soul; He paid my debt.

What work of love was wrought for me in the stillness of Gethsemane!"

https://www.lds.org/music/text/other/gethsemane?lang=eng

Preparing for Conference!

I attended a scripture study/ gospel discussion group in my ward this week, and we studied and discussed 3 Nephi 1-7. The question was asked: How do we refrain from turning into these people? The response I found came from 3 Nephi 2:1, when it says "... the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven..." thus without remembering the importance of amazing guidance and power shown before us we will suffer and fall into their path of transgression. We must instead keep each prompting and sign from God as astonishing as the first. To continue to show our appreciation for the miracles and promptings God blesses us with we can write down our spiritual experiences, listen to promptings, and much more.

Therefore, still on my mind I connected this topic to sacrament meeting. The talks were focused on preparing for conference in a few different ways, like preparing our hearts. I related this to the discussion earlier, for General Conference is a great opportunity to  hear the words of God through the quorum of the twelve apostles and prophets. Sometimes we need a reminder that General Conference is astonishing and we can receive more of our Heavenly Father's words through a small preparation before and actively listening and seeking for answers.

I discovered one more way to get the most out of conference. My friend, Allie, on Sunday mentioned how a speaker in her sacrament meeting gave some ideas for how to get the most out of conference. Allie paraphrased the speakers words and stated that we need not write all the words of the apostles and attempt to copy down every quote. for the stories and talks will be printed shortly after. But remembering the past remains difficult-but a different tactic might be to write down and record what stands out to you as the scriptures answer questions you've asked.

Their are many ways to prepare for Conference, and various ways to stay focused and get the most out of it.
Find what works best for you and ENJOY CONFERENCE!

Much Love,
Melissa Longhurst
Live Laugh Love Life

Applying the Book of Mormon to my life!

A week ago I had the opportunity to read and ponder the scriptures in a nice quiet location. These locations have been hard to come by recently, so it was nice and relaxing therefore creating the opportunity to enjoy the scriptures and find small connections to my life. I will share some with you:

In 1 Nephi 16:34 Ishmael died. I wouldn't have questioned or thought about this much because of the countless wars and lives we hear about within the Book of Mormon, nevertheless I was thinking about my youngest brother Eric who passed away this past March. I've always imagined or hoped to compare myself to Nephi in the Book of Mormon, but in this case I discovered I'm like the daughters of Ishmael. For I imagined myself in their situation: wandering in the wilderness, starving, and loosing a loved one I would complain too. Within 1 Nephi 16:35 the daughters are said to have mourned exceedingly and murmured. I would add a few more emotions and words to describe this experience, such as anger, sadness, hurt, discouragement, confusion, struggle, and crying. In verse 36 the daughters wanted to return to Jerusalem, and this correlates with my feeling in March. After spending some time away for a school activity I felt the feelings of longing to be in that familiar place of home. Although their father wouldn't be there I believe they wished to keep the security of what they know and are familiar with. I wished to keep what I knew and surrounded myself with the normal things that created the surroundings of my life, (family, close friends, games, choir, etc). It's nice to keep what you love and your normal routine even amidst adversity and challenges.

I continued to find a few more connections that brought me to ponder on my experiences and choices I've made. I love the thought that it says in 16:38 "angels have ministered unto them" for I know this could be taken in many ways, but I love this idea


I'm very grateful for the connections I've found with the Book of Mormon and I hope you enjoyed reading my insights from the week.

Live Laugh Love Life
Melissa

The Book of Mormon!

Have you ever truly read, studied, and understood the title page of the Book of Mormon? It's the end of Moroni's writings and it's a great overview of the book. Their are many answers to the basic questions of who the book is about, who it's for, why, when, etc. It also shows Moroni and other prophets of the Book of Mormon's purposes. One of these is to learn about Christ and Heavenly Father, and while discovering Christ we can come to understand our situations, recognize us in the scriptures. Then the ultimate objective of the Book of Mormon is stated in the final line of the title page, "...that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ."

With many articles, textbooks and/or books that you read, a specific focus may help find answers and remembrance about a specific topic throughout your read. With a question or two in mind while reading the Book of Mormon, I have found I understanding and recognizing the topic I'm wondering about. With each question you ask or topic to focus your scripture study around you find new lenses to read through.

A scripture that stood out to me in my Book of Mormon class this week was 1 Nephi 2 verses 3 and 14. In verse three Lehi choose to follow God and when he was commanded he remained obedient and followed. But in verse 14  it states, "And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the valley of Lemuel, with power being filled with the spirit until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore they did as he commanded them." Nevertheless, Laman and Lemuel followed and obeyed eventually but the cause to get them to obey varied greatly from Lehi's.  Recently I've thought of how many of us act like Laman and Lemuel at times and we do as we're told eventually just maybe not with the best attitude or willingness and effort. 

My goal and challenge for you and me this week is to try to have Lehi's attitude and start your pattern of obedience now. So when you are given a commandment you will already have an attitude of obedience to follow the Lord like in verse 3 with Lehi.

Live Laugh Love Life!

Until next time,

Melissa