This week's Talk of the Week was "Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins" by Elder David A. Bednar, you can read, watch, or listen to it
.
image from lds.org
I'll be honest, this week's TOTW really stressed me out. "Always retain a remission of your sins" seemed very daunting, hard, and near impossible-- especially because I'm not perfect and have made mistakes in my life. But as I read and listened to an Apostle of the Lord promise that retaining a remission of our sins is possible, my fears and insecurities were lessened and I was filled with hope.
Elder Bednar's talks are always profound and somewhat deep, if you ask me. He speaks clear and to the point. I love that He always invites the Spirit to inspire and edify himself and all that are listening. I know that during the times I listened and read his talk this week, I was edified and I hope you were too!
One thing that I realized in my last day of reading this talk, was that at the very beginning, when Elder Bednar is talking about King Benjamin's sermon-- he notes that King Benjamin promised that if we will do certain things then we "shall always rejoice, be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of our sins." That's a promise. I always took it as a commandment. (which it kind of is.... BUT it's a promise!) A PROMISE! God promises us that if we try our best to keep His commandments, repent when we don't, pray daily, read our scriptures, go to church, help others, and all of the other primary answers we will retain a remission of our sins! How neat is that?!
image from lds.org
image from lds.org
image from lds.org
A few other quotes that I loved from this talk were:
"Receiving the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost in our lives creates the possibility of an ongoing cleansing of our souls from sin. This joyous blessing is vital because 'no unclean thing can dwell with God.' ... We are blessed by both our initial cleansing from sin associated with baptism and by the potential for an ongoing cleansing from sin made possible through the companionship and power of the Holy Ghost."
image from lds.org
"The act of partaking the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may
always
have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can
always
retain a remission of our sins."
image from lds,org
"The requirements of His plan are glorious, merciful, and rigorous. We may at times be filled with determination and at other times feel totally inadequate. We may wonder if we spiritually can ever fulfill the commandment to stand spotless before Him at the last day."
"Ordinances invite spiritual purpose and power into our lives as we strive to be born again and become men and women of Christ. Our weakness can be strengthened, and our limitations can be overcome."
photo by Debby Leavitt Photography
Yesterday morning, I had a very interesting experience in preparing for church and to partake of the sacrament. This weekend Parker and I were asked to be the prom photographer at my high school's prom. We agreed, but I received a new calling recently and felt strongly that I needed to be back on Sunday in time for Relief Society. But because of almost a month long string of special meetings, our ward has not had the opportunity to partake of the sacrament for three weeks in a row, so we wanted to make it back in time for the sacrament as well because we didn't want to miss that opportunity again. We woke up early and had to leave Bunkerville by 6am in order to make it back in time. We had a late night, and because of the prom's location, smelled like cigarette smoke. We were too tired to shower when we got home and decided we would shower when we woke up the next morning. Well, we ended up sleeping a little later than we meant to and had to leave without showering. I felt so gross. I smelled bad, my hair was disgusting. The only dress I had smelled like cigarette smoke and I did not feel prepared to go to church physically. And because I didn't feel prepared physically, I was having a hard time feeling like I was prepared spiritually. As we got closer to home, it seemed as though we would have to go straight to the church in order to make it in time for the sacrament. I kept reminding myself that all that mattered was that we were going and that we were going to be able to partake of the sacrament, but I wanted more than anything to be able to have enough time to shower and wear a clean dress. I wanted to be prepared to take the sacrament. My prayer was answered and we made it back with fifteen minutes to spare. We quickly showered and changed our clothes and made it to church just in time for the sacrament. I was so grateful to have made it back in time to shower and feel physically prepared as well as spiritually prepared. Taking the sacrament this week was such a sweet experience.
Then I had the opportunity to go to relief society, I thought that I needed to be back for my calling's purpose but as it turns out, I needed to be back for the lesson. There were experiences shared that I needed to hear and the Spirit spoke to me in a way that I needed. God is so good and so aware of each one of us.
"In my life, I've always been surprised by mercy-- not that I didn't think it would be there, but just that I have always been given blessings that I didn't feel I deserved."
- Amy Jackson
I'm grateful for this week's talk of the week! It has strengthened me and helped me to try to be better. I know God lives and that He loves us. And I hope that we can all strive to be a little better each day so that we can always retain a remission of our sins.
Our next talk of the week will be "Family Councils" by Elder M. Russell Ballard. You can read, watch, or listen to it
.