Our Assignment--5 Guiding Principals

In the last blog I mentioned that we were working on an assignment from the Mission President for this month.  It was to write our 5 guiding principles...  Lee and I thought we'd share what we came up with:

 

My Five Guiding Principles to Live By

1.  Perfect my ability to love –

• 1st John 4:8 “He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.”

• Moroni 7:47-48 “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love which he hath bestowed upon all who are the true followers of his Son Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.”

• I need to search my heart and rid it of any prejudice or “traditions of my fathers”.  I need to continually strive for that pure love of Christ toward all men. Hopefully when others feel of my love they will also feel the love of the Savior.

2.  Forgive others as well as myself –

• D&C 64:10 “I the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive but of you it is required to forgive all men.”

• 3Nephi 13:14 “For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you”.

• Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

• With the commandment to forgive all men I need to remember to include myself in that commandment.  I find it easier to forgive others than to forgive myself.  If Heavenly Father can forgive and love me, I should be able to forgive me also.

3.  Learn from my mistakes and be grateful for the repentance process—

• Alma 42:29-30 “And now, my son I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance.  O my son, I desire that ye should deny the justice of God no more.  Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of your sins by denying the justice of God; but do you let the justice of God and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart; and let it bring you down to the dust in humility.”

• None of us are perfect.  We all make mistakes.  My mistakes can be lessons in wisdom as long as I learn from them and use the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ to overcome them.

4. To truly find myself I need to lose myself in the service of others— (Mohandas Gandhi)

• Mosiah 2:17 “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

• I have learned that when I am feeling down, the best remedy for the blues is found in finding someone I can serve.  A phone call…. a visit…..a helping hand can do more to lift my spirits and if I lift the spirits of someone else at the same time, it is just a magnificent bonus.

5.  Live each day with integrity—

• Job 27:5 “God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.”

• Proverbs 20:7 “The just man walketh in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.”

• D&C 124:15 “And again, verily I say unto you, blessed is my servant Hyrum Smith; for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me, saith the Lord.”

• Because of past life experiences I have come to know that integrity is the second most important quality a disciple of Jesus Christ can possess.  I truly cried when I read that the Lord loved Hyrum Smith because of the integrity of his heart.  I want the Lord to love me for that same reason.  A person of integrity can be trusted in all things.  A person of integrity will be the best example for his children.  But perhaps the best quality a disciple of Christ can possess is a firm testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of the restored Gospel.  With a vibrant testimony and total integrity I will be the best person I could possibly be.  And, shouldn’t our goal always be to be the Best!