What kind of candle are you?

 

This day and age we are a people that just go, go, go.  We are constantly moving and going about our business.  We have become a people that doesn't always notice the details.  I am guilty of doing this.  I am so busy going about my day that I am not really looking and seeing what is happening.  Though I can say that that isn't always the case.

I do try to make it a point to watch for kind deeds that are going on around me.  Did someone hold open the door for another person?  Did a car ahead of me kindly let another car get over so that they could make the left turn they needed to make? When someone dropped something, did someone else help the person pick up the item.  I know that if I am watching that there are others that are doing the same.  Most importantly, our children are watching and what example are we setting?  What kind of a candle are we being?

I pose the question of, "What kind of candle are you?" because of what Christ taught while teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.  In the Bible, in the book of Matthew 5:15-16 we read:

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Heavenly Father wants us to be an example to others.  He wants us to be a "candle" and to "let our light shine."  He wants us to live in a way that others will see our examples and glorify him.  Christ set the example for us to follow.  It is possible to live in a way that we do good to others, that we don't revile against those that hurt us, and that we can see the good in everything.

The account of when Christ came to the people of the Americas is found in the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi.  He is teaching the people what was taught at the Sermon on the Mount.  We see that Christ is teaching a people on the other side of the world the same thing that he taught the people in Jerusalem.  God's message is the same everywhere. We are to set a good example for others.

It doesn't matter what religion we follow.  The message is still the same, how are we treating others?  What kind of an example are we being for others and especially our children.  Are we teaching people to be kind, loving, forgiving, and to be happy?   I have seen first hand the kindness of the people of the world.  I have lived in seven different states, in three different countries, and on two separate continents.  There are amazing people all over the world that are living a life of good deeds and kindness.  They are being an example to others.  So I ask again, what kind of candle are you?

                     

(All images are from www.lds.org)

How Easily We Forget

 

We live in a world where we have so many things at our finger tips.  It is so easy to get information these days, it is almost hard to comprehend how unlimited the resources are.  In high school, for me to write a two page research paper it would take hours to gather all of the information that I needed to write it.  Then having to go to the computer lab to type it and hope that a computer was available to use.  Now, that could be researched, typed, and even published online in less than an hour.  

There are so many things that are easier to do because new machines have been created to ease our work load.  A driveway that took four hours to shovel the snow away from can be cleared in no more than 20-30 minutes by using a snow blower.  There are times that I revel in the fact that I can accomplish so many things in a day, but there are other times that I hate that there is so much more expected of me because of the conveniences of today.  

I don't want to make it sound like I am lazy, because I am not.  I just don't like that if I haven't painted the house, mowed the lawn, helped with my kids' science projects, and have a home cooked meal waiting for my husband when he gets home I have not accomplished enough in the day.  I know, I know, I've exaggerated a bit, but you get my point.  I feel that we have forgotten to appreciate that as a people in the 21st century how blessed we really are and who has made this all possible.  

In the Book of Mormon the two major civilizations, the Nephites and the Lamanites, lived their lives in what we in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints call "The Nephite Pride Cycle".  It seemed that when the people started to remember God, worship Him, and follow His commandments they would be blessed.  They would be blessed so much that they would prosper exceedingly in their wealth, their flocks would increase, their crops would be abundant, there wouldn't be as much war, and all would seem to be well in their lands.  Then, slowly, but surely their pride level would increase.  They would stop giving God any credit and then the divisions within the classes would start and life would not be so pleasant and harmonious.  Things would get so bad that God would have to step back in and remind the people that it was Him that had blessed them and given them all that they had.  He was the reason that life had been so good.  There is a verse in the Book of Mormon that sums it up nicely.  In Helaman 12:3 we read:

"And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him."

I just hope that all of us that are old enough to remember how much harder work could be help our children and grandchildren realize how blessed we really are today.  I dare say that from my grandparent's generation, those that were around for WWII, to my children's generation, we have so easily forgotten what it was like to not have.  We have so very quickly forgotten God and the hand that he plays in all things.  It's just something to think about, how easily have you forgotten what you have been blessed with.  Then ask yourself, who has blessed you with all of that?