JUDGING SELF

I've decided to let God judge me, rather than condemning myself flat out and then giving up! He's a MUCH more competent judge of character than I am!

What we like

From my youth I've tried to get myself to like what was good for me. I tried to eat at least some of what was good for me, whether I wanted it or not to begin with. I listened to that which was considered better music (classical or uplifting), rather than just what was easy (rock, stuff with a beat). I even tried to read or watch stuff I felt would be good for me, rather than just what I liked at the moment.

As time has gone by, I find now that I actually DO like what is good for me! The things I like to eat are the things that are good for me. The music I prefer usually is that which is uplifting and of the highest form. That's not to say I don't eat other things too or occasionally listen to lesser quality music. The point is, that by taking positive action, I actually desire what is best.

It has been said that one who makes himself smile a lot, will end up having a happier face even when not thinking about it and when older. The more we consciously seek for what is best, the more we desire it, and the less we like lesser stuff.

Temperate

Elder Kent Watson's Fall 2009 conference talk really impressed me. He said, "Tempered glass, like tempered steel, undergoes a well-controlled heating process which increases strength. Thus, when tempered glass is under stress, it will not easily break into jagged shards that can injure.
"Likewise, a temperate soul--one who is humble and full of love-- is also a person of increased spiritual strength. With increased spiritual strength, we are able to develop self-mastery and to live with moderation. We learn to control, or temper, our anger, vanity, and pride."

I suppose we have to undergo a heating before we can become "tempered!" That may not be fun, just necessary. If we have gold in us, that heat will be applied. Treat that heat and pressure as a compliment and as confidence in you. It wouldn't come if you weren't golden! Then get humble. Pick up the pieces and carry on, carry on, carry on!

Some other quotes from this talk:

"Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things."

"Govern your house in meekness, and be steadfast."

"Speaking of the Savior going through the atonement, bleeding from every pore, "With unsurpassed self-restraint, or temperance, His thoughts were not of Himself but of you and of me." And he did it in humility too.

I'm not a great model of this, but I'm working on it. I'm getting better. I hope you each will keep working on it too.

GO TO BED AND ARISE EARLY...TO BE HAPPY!

If you want to be successful, if you want to be healthy, if you want to get more inspiration and direction in you life, if you desire to accomplish great things, and if you want to see things clearly, then listen to Ben Franklin. “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

Listen to General Authorities. "Elder Lee spoke about the necessity of receiving personal revelation in order to be effective and said: “If you are to be successful as a General Authority, you will need to be inspired. You will need to receive revelation. I will give you one piece of advice: Go to bed early and get up early. If you do, your body and mind will become rested, and then in the quiet of those early-morning hours, you will receive more flashes of insight and inspiration than at any other time of the day.”

"President Romney said: “From that day on, I put that counsel into practice, and I know it works. Whenever I have a serious problem, or some assignment of a creative nature with which I hope to receive the influence of the Spirit, I always receive more assistance in the early-morning hours than at any other time of the day. Following that counsel has helped me a great deal through the years.”

Listen to the Lord. “Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.” (D&C 88:124)

It really doesn’t matter whether you are a “night person,” if there is such a thing. It doesn’t matter if you are ADD or ADHD. It doesn’t matter whether you have “same gender attraction.” It doesn’t matter if you have a “violence gene,” or if any of these weaknesses really exist or are just excuses. The thing that matters is, you CAN’T have the blessings that come from DOING what is best and right unless you DO what is right.

We all have weaknesses. It is part of the plan here on earth. Will we look for excuses, or will we find ways to help ourselves be happy? Disobeying some of the above mentioned choices are sins. Others won’t keep us out of the temple, but they may very well keep us out of the highest heaven!

The Word of Wisdom was not initially a commandment. It was just very good advice from a loving Father. It became a commandment to protect us from the increasing evils in the world. Caffeine is not mentioned, so some drinks with this drug are not part of the temple interview. But if we abstain, we still will be in a better position to both have the attitudes we need to gain the highest levels of happiness and to avoid the outer grasping forces of that spiritual black hole. The same is true with going to bed early and arising early. We should remember not to condemn someone for going to bed late or sleeping late. Just as important though, we should not dismiss our incorrect behavior with excuses.

We were given these weaknesses, so that by continual effort we would develop endurance, consistency, and dependability. It doesn’t come overnight. With some it takes years or even a lifetime. The more we keep on trying, the stronger, AND HAPPIER, we become.

Asking for Him to develop us

We ought to continually ask our Father in Heaven to teach us and help us develop into what He wants us to become. That sounds easy enough at first, but what it implies is, asking for those experiences that will build us. Can you see where I'm going? Some experiences that will build us are not that pleasant, but they are worth it if we persevere through them.

Do we have enough faith to ask for whatever experience He deems necessary for our development? That is a challenge that requires real humility or teachableness and desire for what truly is the best. It goes along with the thought, "How much do we want truth?" Can we accept truth even when it is different than what we want?

I think acquiring that kind of humility and attitude takes time and patience to develop. Sometimes we have to ask, like the man who asked for help in having faith sufficient that his son could be healed, "Help thou mine unbelief," (Mark 9:24). But if it is really what we want, He will mold us in His hands into what we truly have the capability to become. And we really don't know how great that capability is now. We don't fully comprehend what being a child of God means.

Let us ask continually for Him to be our guide, teacher, and leader and he will develop us. He will take us through successfully.

Humility...

means being teachable.

brings peace with God and is neither condemning of self or others.

requires practice. The practice part comes in trying not to judge or be intolerant of others or self, but also to not be satisfied with just whatever. Being humble does not mean allowing sin. That is a hard balancing act that takes practice our whole life to achieve.

is getting so we are not so concerned about how we appear to others as much as how God thinks of how we are living our lives, realizing He knows all and is kind and just.

Poverty and wealth

I don't think that God wants us to be poor. If that is what will help us be humble, hard working, and kinder then fine, but I think he wants us to learn to handle wealth. After all, how can we handle ultimate power if we can't handle wealth appropriately? However, I'd rather be in poverty and good than wealthy and bad.