"Commitment is doing the thing you said you would do, long after the mood you said it in has left you." George R. Zalucki

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Patterns

This is from a training we did with the Zone Leaders (wow-we have such great missionaries!). You can't tell from the clip-but this little exercise caused some frustration. (It made me laugh so hard, I couldn't keep the camera straight.) Then, of course, they all felt dumb after they learned the trick. Life is so much easier once we learn some basic rules. The best part-the rules aren't secret!

The concept behind the game? Once we begin to recognize patterns, progress accelerates. There are patterns through out history, the scriptures, and modern revelation. Picking up on recurring themes expands understanding of certain principles. I've observed that reading The Book of Mormon daily increases discernment. Once I discover a true principle, I begin seeing it in other aspects of my life.

Some of my favorite recurring themes? (one day I'll work on getting some references linked to these!)

  • Remembering
  • God's promises and prophecies are always fulfilled
  • Journeying to a promised land
  • The blessings that come from obedience
  • Looking for Christ to come again
  • 2 choices-only two, no middle ground-opposites
  • The Lord does things differently than the world
  • God prepares a way for us to succeed
  • Building Boats (only 3 times, but still-repetition is a law of learning!)
  • Patterns of revelation
  • And of course-MISSIONARY WORK in every size, shape, and form!

What are some of your favorite recurring themes from The Book of Mormon?

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When I was 14 or 15, I had a teacher that prided himself on being a thinker. We had some enlightening discussions in his classroom. He helped me ask some great questions that led to tremendous answers that still guide me today. We agreed on many things, but were at odds on a few. One of them was religion. I had a lot of respect for this man, but it amazed me that someone who claimed to be open minded was blind to just how closed minded he was when it came to God. He was always challenging my faith. He considered my beliefs to be a sign of my weakness. His claim was that unless it could be acknowledged by the 5 senses, there was no proof that God existed. I struggled as a young person to help him understand that he was limiting his understanding to what he had personally experienced, cutting himself off from other possibilities. The best that I could do was to try and help him understand how I knew; that things of the spirit could only be understood and perceived by the spirit. Years later, I still don't have a better answer to this one fundamental question, but I face the same dilemma. This blog is dedicated to preserving stories and experiences of missionaries in the Arizona Mesa Mission both during and after their formal missions. Some stories are fun and light hearted, but others are of a spiritual nature. The blog forum is so convenient, yet the format is limiting. There is more to these words than letters on a page. To truly understand the messages requires not only an open mind, but a soft heart.

After all, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, else what's a Heaven for?- Robert Browning"

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