And the Winner is...

We as a society speak in terms of winners and losers. If I were to ask you to describe to me what a loser is, certain people would come to your mind. Maybe even yourself. Words associated with losers are criminal, team, misfit, failure or bad. A loser is someone who consistently proves they are not worthy of respect. But when you think to yourself, "I'm such a loser," what you're really saying is that you have somehow failed at life. You are consistently proving to yourself your ineptitude at this game we call Being Human. 

Ok, so you are a loser. What does that mean? Even the loser gets to play. But that's not really what you want to hear, is it? What you want to hear is, "No! You're not a loser!" Ok, so you're not a loser. Do you feel better? No? Why not? I told you what you wanted to hear. In that case, let's try something else.

What does it mean to Be Human? In order to figure that out we have to go back a little bit. Rewind to before we were born. We all lived with Heavenly Father together. Chances are we've met before. Hello again. Anyways, we were presented with a choice. Heavenly Father's plan involved coming to earth, learning how to be like Him and one day return to Him to receive of the glory which we choose. Lucifer (who, by the way, was every bit our brother as Christ was) decided he didn't like that plan. He didn't want to see any of us perish because of bad choices. And he also wanted all the glory to himself. Maybe more so the latter. In any case, Lucifer proposed his plan, and maybe it sounded pretty good. None of us would be lost, what did we care who the glory went to? There was just one flaw in Lucifer's plan. You can't take glory away from the Father. It can only be given. So when he demanded the glory go to him, he set his will in defiance with the Father's. We took sides, and the mere fact that you are sitting in that chair with that rather stunned look on your face means that you chose not to follow Satan's plan. Congratulations, you won a free body! Unfortunately, bodies come with all sorts of things that Spirits don't. Like livers and pancreases. And hearts and brains. And hearts and brains develop very differently than our Spirit versions do. They are susceptible to decay, disease and malformation. And our emotions, which are tied to pretty much everything we do, came right along with this wonderful body. Isn't it great? Now, raise your hand if you have complete control over your emotions. Put your hand down. Even the "best" of us are prone to emotional hijackings. Some of you are wondering what "best" means. Well, that depends on you. So, think about that for a minute. Got the idea in your head? Great, now throw it out the window. Because who in the world are you to decide what's "best" as far as people go? Now I admit that the Avengers are the best at what they do. But they have superpowers. If you haven't got superpowers, forget it. Given the chance, we could all come up with a list of the "best" people we know of, historical or otherwise. Names like Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King would crop up quite a bit, probably. But they were only the best at being Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King. Some of you are laughing right about now, shaking your heads and saying, "Well duh!" But if they could only be the best at themselves, why do you have to be better than everyone you know, and even some people you don't? Because that's what being a loser means. It is a word that implies competition. Because if you're are a loser, somewhere out there is a winner. Which, as you can hopefully now see, is preposterous. The only way you can lose at being an imperfect human is if you stopped being human. And barring any zombie apocalypse, that ain't going to happen. So just be yourself. You, my friend (and I do not use that term lightly) are NOT a loser. You wish you were different? Change. Not tomorrow, not next Friday. Right now. That doesn't mean that everyone else will see the change tomorrow. But you will know, and so will God. Change takes practice. But if I can learn how to do multivariable calculus and quantum mechanics, you can do this. You can learn to not think of yourself as a loser. And that is the most important change you can possibly make, because it is the most self-fulfilling prophecy on the planet. In other words, if you think you're a loser, you will be. If you think you're a child of a loving Heavenly Father who expects nothing more than His imperfect human child can offer, then you will feel that, too. You'll feel love. Perfect love.

Ready? Go!

Sacrament Prayers Part 6

And now we come to the promise that is made to us if we promise to remember Him and keep His commandments. When I was a kid, I used to think this was a raw deal. We have to do all that and then all we get is one thing back? But what my underdeveloped sense of God's love could not comprehend was the import of the promise that we will always have His Spirit to be with us.

Other names for the Spirit are Comforter, Holy Ghost, Conscience and Spirit of Truth. Christ Himself said that the Holy Ghost would "teach [us] all things." The Holy Ghost was promised to His followers shortly before His death, because He wanted to assure them that He would still be with them, if not in body. I think about what that must have been like for His disciples, to have Jesus there with them to teach them and wrap them in His arms, and then to have Him tell them He would not always be there. How devastating that must have been! But what a comfort the Holy Ghost must truly have been, to fill the void left by Christ's departure. The Holy Ghost comforts as Christ did, teaches as Christ taught, guides as Christ guided. It is not in God's plan to have Christ on the earth right now, so He gave us Someone to help us feel His love for us now. In essence, the Holy Ghost is our access to God. It is through Him that inspiration is received, love is felt, sins are forgiven, direction perceived and a relationship with God is cultivated. The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead, along with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. God wants to grant us the companionship of a member of the Godhead. Think about what that means for you.

Our relationship with God is based on positive feedback. When we keep the commandments, we receive the Holy Ghost, who helps us make correct choices and continue keeping the commandments. After which, we receive greater witness of our good standing with God and we feel His presence more strongly, through the Holy Ghost. And I testify that the more we feel the influence of the Holy Ghost, the happier we are and the less we feel inclined to berate ourselves or others. We want to be happy, we want to repent of our sins, we want to feel love and the clearer we see the world around us. God directs us in all aspects of our lives. Socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically, academically. When we allow the Holy Ghost to direct our lives, there is not a moment that He cannot help us, not a sadness He does not experience with us and no triumph He does not celebrate on our behalf. That is what it means to have the Holy Ghost with you. It means everything.

Sacrament Prayers Part 5

The next part differs from the bread to the water. They both start out with the phrase "that they may witness unto thee." To witness is to observe or experience personally. When one serves as a witness in a trial, they are giving account of something they were present for, or saw, or heard. You cannot witness to something that you don't have first-hand experience with. So when we partake of the Sacrament, we are witnessing, or giving personal testimony, that we will do the things that follow.

This is where they differ slightly. The only difference is that in the prayer over the bread, we witness that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, in addition to other things. To take upon ourselves someone else's name is to identify with them, to take their creed upon ourselves, and to accept the consequences. When we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, we cannot do it lightly, because He did not do it lightly. Those who would criticize Him, will criticize us, and those who revile against Him will revile against us.

The rest of the promises on our end are the same in both prayers. We also witness to always remember Him. Here again is that all-important word, remember. If we would remember Him always, we would treat people differently, pray more fervently and act with more faith. That doesn't mean that other things aren't going to hold our attention, because that would defeat the purpose of this life; we came here to live and learn. But God isn't just in His Gospel; He is all around us, in all the beauty and creative minds that give us things to read and listen to. When we always keep in mind whether something is bringing us closer to the Spirit, then we are keeping Him in mind. And when we think of our fellow men as brothers and sisters, we remember Him.

Last of all, we witness to keep His commandments. I like to think that if we can keep the greatest commandment, then all others will follow. Christ Himself gave this commandment during His ministry. It is to love God with all thy heart, might, mind and strength. When we can truly do that, all others will fall into place, because when we love God, we want to show that love by following His commandments. When we love God, we can feel that those commandments are not to restrict or punish us but to bless and protect us. When we love God, we trust Him, fully and without any reservations. And that is true happiness.

Sacrament Prayers Part 4

The next phrase differs a little in each prayer, but only in minor verb usage. The emblems are being blessed to our souls, in order that we might perform this ordinance in remembrance of Him. Spencer W Kimball has said that the most important word in the English language is remember. The word appears 505 times in the Standard Works of the LDS Church, with 162 coming from the Old and New Testaments. Some of our favorite phrases that we shout at our kids as they run out the door contain this word: Remember who you are! Remember your lunch money! Remember I love you! Dictionary.com defines the word remember has "retain in the memory" or "recall to the mind". So we perform this act in remembrance of Him. By taking the Sacrament, if we do it properly, we remember Him, and His Sacrifice. We once again recall to our minds this wonderful gift. The Sacrament is the one time in the week that we can sit and think, specifically about the Savior. What a wonderful gift! Naturally, those of you who have children are thinking to yourselves that I haven't a clue what I'm talking about because the Sacrament is simply one more quiet moment in which the shrieks of your children become deafeningly obvious. But the Lord can make it a wonderful time for you, too. Just ask Him. He will answer because He loves you.

Second Chances

You just received a 40% on a test that is worth 30% of your grade. What is your reaction? Some of you would start to make a list of things you could work on, then come up with a plan, and get to work. Some of you would simply decide that this grade is a commentary on a fundamental flaw in your character, and simply give up, assuming you could never do better. The latter group might even think that there is no coming back from such a monumental mistake, that nothing you can do will ever make up for it. For you, there is no second chance.

But what if you could erase that grade? What if you could erase anything that might stand in your way of getting 100% on that next test? What if you could be assured that your hard work would pay off? There is such a second chance, you can erase all your mistakes and you can be assured that your hard work pays off. I know that because that is just what I have learned to believe recently, and it works.

This doesn't just apply to grades. I have struggled with friendships in the past, assuming that something I have said or done has ended all possibility of ever continuing that relationship. Part of that comes from experience and part of that comes from poor self-evaluations. But all of it is false.

The reality is that there is truth and there is error. And the truth of the matter is that one mistake does not do us in for life, let alone eternity. My failed relationships (we all have them, by the way), and my failed tests and my failed attempts at one thing or another are not footnotes in my book of life that read, "The moment Aubri screwed herself royally." They are moments when my emotions got the best of me, or when I didn't know something that would have been useful. They were moments of indecision or moments when a series of irritants blew up in my face to produce a wholly undesirable response in me. They weren't my finest moments, but neither were they my undoing. They weren't me. Who I am inside can change. I get to learn from my mistakes. I get to try to be better. I get to learn from the One who knows my heart as well as the hearts of those around me. I can't change other people or read their minds. But I can learn about myself.

My message is one of hope, and love. You are not royally screwed, no matter what you've done. You are still learning, still growing, and still capable of change. Anyone who doesn't understand or who is not inclined to wait around while you do, forgive them. It's not a commentary on you, or them, either. It simply is. The best way to begin is to let God in. If you need it, the Addiction Recovery Program of the LDS Church is available and amazing. You can find the twelve step manual, as well as other resources here: http://addictionrecovery.lds.org/?lang=eng. Let God in. Not just slightly or tritely, but completely and sincerely. Only then can you learn what to replace the negative beliefs with. For a long time I felt hopeless, I wanted to change but I didn't know what to change into. Now I know.

A long time ago, I wrote about armor, which is where the title of my blog comes from. We will, inevitably get chinks in our armor, because we are actively fighting this war. But they don't have to stay. We know an incredible Blacksmith, who can hammer them out and make our armor shiny and new again. By doing these things, what's how we do it. There is no other way, but there is indeed a Way.

Sacrament Prayers Part 3

Our relationship with God established, we proceed to ask for specific blessings. These blessings are quite possibly the most significant we could possibly ask, which is probably why it is done by the power of the Priesthood. The blessings are first, to bless, and second to sanctify, the bread and water to the souls of all those who partake of it.

To bless is to bestow favors. When we consider any blessing, whether it one we perceive as a personal blessing or a blessing that has been widely acknowledged, we are really recognizing God's hand in our lives. God bestows upon us blessings which we have deemed ourselves, according to our conduct, worthy to receive (D&C 130: 20-21). They can be anything from an extra bit of money that shows up when we need it, to the feeling of forgiveness that permeates our hearts. Thus, to bless is to give extra help. So what could possibly be meant by "bless...this bread (or water)"? I sincerely doubt that the Sacrament bread and water gives us any added nutrients or health benefits.

To sanctify, quite simply put, is to purify. We are sanctified by the blood of Christ, through the Atonement. Having paid the price, we are set free from the effects of sin, and our sins become as white as snow, as Isaiah so eloquently puts it. But, again, this is in regards to us personally, so what possible benefit could sanctifying the emblems have? Personally, I've never seen a fungus growing in my cup.

The key, then, is the phrase, "to the souls." That little two-lettered word denotes aiming toward something, or, in this case, someone. Specifically, you. The Sacrament is wrought with symbolism. The emblems remind us of something specific about the Savior's sacrifice. The bread represents His body, which he took again the third day in order to make possible the resurrection of mankind. The water represents His precious blood, which was shed both in the Garden and on the cross, during which times the Savior made possible our spiritual return to the Father. So, it is not the actual bread and water which are blessed and sanctified, but rather the actual sacrifice of the Savior. His sacrifice is blessed and sanctified to us, or given to us for our benefit. Those are the blessings that the Lord is already willing to grant, if we will only ask for them.

I think the next time I take the Sacrament, I will think differently about it.

Sacrament Prayers Part 2

Having established that the Sacrament Prayers are indeed prayers, one must consider the manner in which they begin. The very first words are an indication of who they are directed toward. Just as all prayers, they are meant for our Heavenly Father's ears. However, something very fundamental can be learned from what follows: "...we ask Thee, in the name of Jesus Christ...". Yes, we address Heavenly Father, but we do it in the name of Jesus Christ. The role of our Savior comes to light here. Christ is our advocate with the Father, and it is through His sacrifice that we obtain blessings from the Father. 

No one can deny the existence of God's law. Adam himself was given this law and put under covenant to obey it. But Adam was not perfect, just as none of us are. And without obedience to the law, there can be no exaltation, no blessings of any kind. In short, we would be damned, or stopped in our progress. We wouldn't be able to become better, or learn new things, because the Spirit would cease to strive with us. Without the Savior's Atonement, this very existence would be utterly wasted. 

But the wonderful, liberating reality is that He did perform the Atonement. He answered the very ends of God's law, He paid the price for when we have our imperfect moments. So that when we have them, we can turn to our Savior and obtain forgiveness once again, and the Spirit back. Anyone who has ever felt the loss of this gift can tell you, life is nothing without it. And once we have it back, we can continue to become more like the Savior.

Thus Jesus Christ becomes our advocate with the Father. This does not mean that God Himself does not hear our prayers, it simply means that we have someone standing next to us, to verify and give validity to our prayers, to say, "I have payed the price for their mistakes. Hear their pleas." So when, through the Priesthood, we ask for the blessings of the Sacrament to rest upon us, we can be assured that God will both hear and answer our prayers, because we ask in the name of Jesus Christ.