I feel good

I have felt the spirit a lot today. I feel grateful for that because it isn't always that way. And church has been frustrating the last month or so. Just haven't really liked it. But I've been doing a couple things so that I could feel the spirit more in my life. Like drive the speed limit. And read my scriptures every day. And dedicate one day a week to studying prayer. And praying more fervently and frequently. My faith is increasing. It felt so good to feel the spirit today at church.

Heard thy cry

Mosiah 9 was a perfect chapter to read because it gave a great train of scriptures to follow. On verse 8 I think. On the word "hear."

The scriptures in the footnote for that word were all so perfect. I'm learning that there is a distinction between hearing and then doing something. Sometimes all this wants to do is to hear our cries. And he always hears them. Then he decides if it's in our best interest to answer them or to respond to them. But he always hears them.

Grace

I mean, how do we use Grace very day? How do we do continuously apply the blood of the atonement? How do I continue to convert?

Repent daily
Pray really hard
Pray often
Think about and keep my covenants
Receive Him
Abide in him
Let his words abide in me
Learn about him and his words
Keep his commandments willingly and purposely and eagerly

I have tasted the sweet taste of forgiveness or growth or change of heart, but can I feel so now. I mean, not as much as then. I don't think this lack is because of sin per se. Maybe just lack of effort.

"We find joy in the consistent effort of experiencing a change of heart as we embrace the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives." Elder Dube, Ensign, June 2016

Between he and thee alone

D&C 28:11 talks about Joseph Smith and how he needed to talk to Hiram Page, a man who purported to be receiving revelation through a stone, his fault. The Lord told Joseph to go to him alone, essentially to not make the issue public. I think this is important, and a good principle. I need to approach people directly and not talk about them with others or make them look bad. He footnote leads to Matthew 18:15: ¶Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

Then I read Uchtdorf's "The Merciful Shall Obtain Mercy," and it was so powerful and moving. Do I forgive? Am I the kind of person who forgives? I need to forgive. I need to think about the beams in my eye, and about the imperfections and sins that Jesus forgives in me. I need to show love to others and remember that maybe I am supposed to love them and help them. I need to fill my body and heart with love for God and let that govern my feelings and thoughts and actions. 

Fertile ground

I realized today after reading Eyring's talk from April 2016 that the parable of the seeds and the different kinds of ground applies to the various states of a one person's heart. That is amazing. I have a lot of agency in how soft I am, how fertile I let my ground be. I loved that talk. Eyring says things like how we choose to pray with all our hearts or we choose to offer our prayer along with other's, etc. It's powerful.

Women

Notes from Nelson's talk, "A Plea to My Sisters" in October 2015

Have faith that covenant-keeping women really will have an impact on the future of the Lord's Church, that they will bring others to it and to Jesus by the lives they live (Spencer W. Kimball). What's a covenant-keeping woman? One who keeps her covenants, who remembers the Savior, who takes His name upon her and represents Him, one who attends the temple, one who keeps the commandments, one who studies and learns the gospel, one who repents, one who dedicates her life to serving the Lord.

These are the qualities that will bring women of the world and their families to the Lord:
Virtue
Light
Love
Knowledge
Courage
Character
Faith
Righteous lives
Woman who know how to make important things happen by their faith
Woman who are courageous defenders of morality and the family
Devoted to shepherding God's children on the path toward God
Woman who know how to receive personal revelation
Who understand the power and peace of the temple endowment
Women who know how to call upon the power of heaven to strengthen their families
Woman who teach fearlessly (italicized because this is something I want to work on)

How to pray in a way that God can answer

Have the mind of Chrsit and the will of Christ. Remember the two overlapping circles. Left side is what I want, right side is that He wants. How much do they overlap? One way to help with this is to tack on "but if not" to my requests. 

And remember this: "I noticed that the things I want are largely circumstantial things—things based on the circumstances of life—while the things that God wants for me are mostly un-circumstantial (don’t look that up; it’s not really a word), or things relating to the state of my heart." LDS.org 4/12/2016