Every Member a Missionary

This week in my studying for my New Testament class, a scripture stood out to me: Romans 1:15-16. The following is the scriptures from the King James version of the Bible:

15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

This is the principle that I gained from that scripture: If we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ and believe in it, then we are ready to do missionary work.

I always forget that I do not have to "preach" to others in order to do missionary work. I don't always share things from the LDS church on my Facebook page because I don't want my friends who are of other religions to feel like I am preaching at them. Just thinking about it, I know that I will share this post on Facebook. I hope my friends know that I would never force my beliefs onto them. 

When I was younger, I would save inspirational messages that I either received through a church class or elsewhere. Now, with Facebook, I can share inspirational messages on Facebook. I need to remember that not all inspirational messages are "preachy". For all I know, there is someone out there that needs to hear that they are loved or that there is someone going through something similar to themselves.

Just looking through my Facebook feed today, there are a few inspirational messages that I found that anyone of any faith could relate to. One of the great things about being a Christian, of any domination, is that we each share a belief and faith in Christ. My faith in Christ has gotten me through many of life challenges. 

I have been reminded this week, through the discussion board for my class, that I need to work more on my faith. Earlier this year, I struggled with finding an internship. I became a little depressed and I just wanted to give up. But thankfully I live with family and they would ask me every day how my search was going. Some days it annoyed me because I just wanted to be in this whole I created for myself. But if it wasn't for them, especially my mom, I wouldn't have found my temp job in recruiting. I was so excited and relieved to have found it and that they would allow me to have it count towards my internship.

But then a few months later, things fell apart. I no longer had the temp job, it ended earlier than I was hoping it would. I was worried about what I was going to do about my internship for school, since it ended a few weeks before the semester was to start. About the second or third week of the semester, I went up to Rexburg to talk to financial aid to get some things cleared up. When I was there, I decided to stop by my old job on campus. One of my old bosses is good friends with my internship coordinator and helped me to talk to him. (For those of you who know me, know that I have a hard time talking to others on my behalf especially if I don't know them very well.) Luckily, I was able to get everything worked out. 

One thing that I have learned during my adult life is that there is a reason why I work at my different places of employment. I have made some great friends over the years because of the places I have worked. One of the greatest blessings during my time at BYU-Idaho was being able to work on campus for the Business and Communication Academic Discovery Center. Through that job, I was able to learn that Elementary Education was not for me. I then discovered of another field that I would like to work in someday and that is Human Resources. Business Management degree would help me get there someday. Through my job on campus, I learned that I love helping others work out their problems. I loved that happy look on their face when they realize that they could graduate earlier or that they didn't have to take a class they were planning because they could either sub a previous unused course or change catalog years. 

Long story short, don't be afraid to share something important to you. Keep your faith in Christ, things will work out; usually in a way you least expect it. One of my favorite paintings of Christ is one by Greg Olsen, titled "O Jerusalem". This was my favorite painting of Christ in my youth. I can't put into words how important it is to me. In the painting, Christ looks like He is pondering. It gives me a peaceful feeling when I look at this painting. It tells me that everything will work out.

Stand Fast in Faith

This week for my New Testament reading, I found a scripture in 1 Corinthians that really stood out to me. It's 1 Corinthians 16:13 "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." What I got out of that scripture is that if we stand fast in our faith in Christ, then we will be strong. I have never really struggled with my testimony of Christ, but I have recently struggled a little in my faith. To me, struggling in my faith wasn't doubting but more having a hard time seeing that God still had a plan for me and that everything will work out in the end. One of my favorite paintings of Christ is by the artist Greg Olsen titled "Let Him In". It is a painting of Christ knocking on a door without a knob. One reason why I love this painting is because it reminds me that Christ is there waiting for me to open the door to Him. 

One thing that I have found that has helped me to strengthen my faith is to follow the "primary answers" that I would always hear about growing up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For those not familiar with that term, "primary answers" are: going to church, pray, read/study the scriptures daily, etc. I find when I do at least those three things, I am stronger in my faith and my testimony. One thing that helps me when I am at church is to write notes during sacrament meeting. Otherwise, I tend to loose my focus to what is being taught. Most nights, I cannot fall asleep without saying my prayers. I feel closer to God and Christ when I say meaningful prayers and not just repeating things everyday. When I don't read my scriptures everyday, those are the days that I struggle the most with.

Another favorite painting of mine is by the artist, Simon Dewey titled "Lead, Kindly Light". Earlier this year, I bought a print and mat at Deseret Book. Then I bought a frame from Hobby Lobby. I now have this painting in my bedroom to help me to remember Christ in my life daily. Light is often compared to faith. In the painting, Christ is holding a little light and inviting you with His other hand. This painting makes me think of the 10 Virgin parable in the New Testament. So often we let our faith fade because we are distracted with the "things of the world" or the craziness of our lives. This painting reminds me that Christ is there waiting for me to follow in His path. It's not always easy to follow in the footsteps of Christ, but as we follow the "primary answers" we will become stronger in our faith. I know this to be true. 

I hope you enjoy this video from Mormon Messages titled Mountains to Climb. It is about overcoming mountains/struggles in our life. (I have attached the link to the video in case the video doesn't work.) Everyone has different trail/struggles to go through in life, but as we stay close to Christ and work on our faith in Him, we can overcome them with faith. It's important to remember that just because someone else's trail/struggle is different than yours, does not make it less important.

**The links to the paintings is so that you can see what the painting looks like. You do not need to purchase anything from the sites. Because of copyright laws, I wasn't sure if I could post the pictures of the paintings on my blog.