Article of Faith #7

#7  "We Believe in the gift of tongues, prophesy,

revelation,

visions,

healings,

interpretation of tongues

and so forth."

This Article of Faith is a lot to do with the miracles that are all around us.  But we believe in these miracles!

"...exhorting all men to come unto God,

the Holy One of Israel,

and believe in prophesying,

and in revelations,

and in the ministering of angels,

and in the gift of speaking with tongues,

and in the gift of interpreting languages,

and in all things which are good;"

Omni 1:25

We can also aquire the gift of revelation for our children and for ourselves.

"But this is not all;

they had given themselves to much prayer,

and fasting;

therefore they had the spirit of prophecy,

and the spirit of revelation,

and when they taught,

they taught with power and authority of God."

Alma 17:3

An example of a healing from the Book of Mormon:

And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed.

And he said: Yea, I believe according to thy words.

And then Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Christ.

And when Alma had said these words, Zeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to the great astonishment of all the people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the land of Sidom.

(Alma 15:8-11)

And the gift that is well known for missionaries of the church as well as to anyone that is trying to understand and interpret the spirit.

 "And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues."

(Moroni 10:16)



Christmas shopping

We had a wonderful experience going down to Santa Rosa to do some Christmas shopping with two ladies from Middletown.  We went to two malls and Costco all in one day.  While we were at the second mall, we were in JcPenny and I was getting a little bit tired.  We were conveniently in the bedding section, and their was a spot that you could test the memory foam pads.  I laid down for a little and rested there.  I was super tired.  But when all was done, we had had such a fun time that we didn't feel bad about going and really appreciated the trip and the experiences that we had there.

Some days we may feel like this life is too much or too hard for us to handle.  But it is not.  The person we are about to celebrate the birth of, Jesus Christ, has already taken upon him all the unfairness and the discomforts in this life so that he will know how to succor us, or to support us.
I like to think of Mary when I think of 'enduring to the end'.  She was a very strong lady and had to suffer much to bring the Savior into this world.  She saw an angel that told her that she was going to conceive a Child.  Then she had to tell the man she was engaged to.  Then she had to travel great distances before she actually had the baby.  Gave birth in the humble circumstances of a manger stall.  Now I don't know about you, but this seems like a trial to go through and she is extremely humble through the whole experience. 
In Luke 1:48-49 Mary is describing her feelings after having heard the news that she is going to give birth to the Son of God.  She says, 
"For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.  For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name."  

We each face trials, but Christ has already overcome them.  He is there for us and wants us to feel of His love all the time.  Christmas is important because we get a chance to celebrate and reflect on the MIRACLE of Christ's birth, as well as the promises of His sacrifice to overcome the world.  In the end its going to be worth it.  We will look back and be glad we stayed strong and faithful in our life.  Christ and God are real.  They LOVE us very much.  They want us to be successful in this life, and not to get weighed down or discouraged in the different experiences we face in life.  Let us be happy and rejoice as we celebrate this CHRISTmas season.