Opening our Hearts

Opening our Hearts - Elder Gerald N. Lund:

This is a beautiful talk that reminded me of the importance of being humble and meek. In my life I've experienced many situations when I wanted to resolve things on my own. I use to be the kind of person who thinks that I have to do it on my own, not because I think I don't need the Lord in my life, but because I used to think that I had to use my capacities and do all that I can before coming to the Lord with my concerns. And usually things are ten times worst when I finally go to the Lord… With time I've learned that it was wrong! We have to turn our self to the Lord (always) and with him try to do all that we can. And being humble and opening our heart is really the only way we can be guided and receive the instructions we need. I especially likes when elder Lund quotes elder Bednar when he says : “Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. . . . Ultimately, . . . the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter.” The Lord wants to help us and guide us through the Holy Ghost, but WE have to open our heart to receive the message. When we have our heart constantly open, we will be in tune with the Holy Ghost and we will feel peace and confidance.

Out of small things

Out of small things - Elder Michael J. Teh
http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-13,00.html

There is a sentence that really caught my attention, elder Teh said: " To some degree we all depend on each other to be able to make it back to our heavenly home."

Lately I've been a little disappointed about some friendships... I sometime feel, that I try to care for others, but it doesn't go the other way around. And this week I was reading in the New Testament and was amazed how Christ never ceased to do good around him, even if the people weren't always nice to him or returning him the gesture. I read the verse where he says that when we do something to someone we do it to him. I felt really selfish thinking about my little self-centred attitude! Anyway I think service is a great remedy against selfishness and hard times, because when we do something for someone else we forget about our problems and we feel happy.
Well I agree with elder Teh, we all depend on each other to be able to make it back to our heavenly home, because we all need help and more important we all need to learn to forget about our self and help other.

So my walk this week will be to try to be a better person in doing good to the people around me, by doing small acts of kindness.

Second when I feel frustrated about how people react or act towards me, I will remember that I do it for and to Christ because I love him and because he loves each one of us!

This talk reminded me also to one of my favourite scripture, D&C 64:33 "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."

Easter

Easter:

This morning I had to give a talk at church about Christ’s last words on the cross. I’m not going to go over this here, but I’m amazed to see that in a moment of intense suffering His words were words of forgiveness, of care and of submission to the Father. What a great example! It’s always in moments of big suffering, trials, or when someone’s life comes to the end, that you see the real nature of a person. And Christ really is the Son of God who came on earth to save us. He is our great example, our friend, our Saviour. I’m grateful for His sacrifice and for the knowledge I have that I can start over each time I repent and that He knows me and will help me in my trials, because He has been there and loves me.

Today I’ve been thinking about how I can draw closer to my Saviour and accept His sacrifice in my daily life. I remember when I was on my mission my president suggested me to read the Sermon on the Mount everyday during a week. I did it and I felt really closer to the Christ… and I think it’s because I had His teaching in my mind each morning and I tried during the day to follow His example. So I think a good way to come closer to the Saviour is to learn about Him and try to be more like Him.

My walk now will be to read again the books of Matthew, Marc, Luke, John and the visit of Christ to the Nephite. And I will each morning ponder to know what I can (or have to) change in my life to be more like my Saviour.

The scream

The Scream - E. Münch

I'm moving - It's unbelievable how much stuff I can keep... Things that I've received, things that remind me of a special moment, things that I've collected thinking I might need them someday and things that I really need.


I can't keep everything, I have to make some choices... But I hate those kinds of choices because you always end up throwing away something that you'll need or miss someday. So why not keeping everything?

The Silence

The Silence - by Füssli

Is the silence always closed or retire within itself?
I think the silence speaks... and sometimes even better than words. We can share so much during silent moments - We can feel so close to someone. Silence can create something special that words would break!

Well M. Füssli, you're only showing one side of the silence... Or are you trying to show us something else... Maybe is the silence hiding a magic world within it... behind the hair, encircled by his arms - protected. A world created only for you and me.

Claim the Exceeding Great and Precious Promises

Claim the Exceeding Great and Precious Promises - Elder Spencer J. Condie
http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-6,00.html

While reading elder's Condie talk, a story came to my mind. During my first years of college I was really scared about failing and I was really trying to do my best to succeed. One day one of my young women told me "Well are you going and doing your home work for your institute religion class? If you do, you won't have to worry about succeeding at college..." I looked at her, not understanding what she meant (she was 14 years old at that time, which makes the situation even more weird...) And then she said straight to me, " The prophet said to the youth that if we go and do our seminary we will be fine at school (if we do our work, of course), if it works for seminary and school it should be the same for institute and college...". What that young told me left a real impression on me... I understood D&C 130:21 better (“when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated”). Blessings are related to specific commandments... If we want a specific blessing we have to obey the law upon which it lies...

When I came back from my mission I started to mark in my scriptures each time I read a promised blessing and what commandment was related to it... There are tons of promises in the scriptures. Doing that exercise helped me to realize how much I was missing. Sadly I didn't do it through the whole scriptures. So my commitment today is to start doing that exercise again and try to seek through the spirit what commandment I should work on (what blessing I need in my life now, to help me to progress).

One more thing that touch me in this talk is when he tells us to see the promises afar off. It was a real comfort to think about the story of Sarah and also Rachel, who didn't see the promised blessing coming... But who were eventually blessed. What I like about Sarah, for example, is that she was really old and she didn't think it could be possible for her to bear a child... it was humanely not likely to happen, but for God nothing is impossible. We should trust him and not look to things with our human eyes, but we have to look with the eyes of faith.

O Remember, Remember

O Remember, Remember - President Henry B. Eyring http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-24,00.html


Okay, I've always been really bad at keeping a personal journal or any kind of thoughts compilation. It's not that I don't want to, or that I haven't try... It's just that I have a hard time to do it more than six months in the row. I know this is important to do it and I really want to try again and again... and again if needed.

I think the reason why I have such a hard time to keep a journal is because I often think I don't have anything interesting to write. So I really like President Eyring suggestion to write about seeing God's hand in our daily life. First it gives us a purpose and then it's a great opportunity to learn to recognize God's hand in our life. I know for my self that I don't recognize many of those blessings, only because I don't take the time to think...

I know that in my life, remembering spiritual experiences has been a key to hold on to the rod during hard times. I have several spiritual experiences in my mind, concerning specific things (like tithing, prayer, trusting the Lord, etc...) and when I feel like I can't anymore, when I feel like my prayers are not answered, or I feel alone... I try to remember those experiences and it helps me to cast away my doubts... It helps me to feel the Spirit and God's love for me.

One thing that caught my attention in his talk is when he speaks about the Holy Ghost. He says: " The key to the remembering that brings and maintains testimony is receiving the Holy Ghost as a companion. It is the Holy Ghost who helps us see what God has done for us. It is the Holy Ghost who can help those we serve to see what God has done for them." We need the Holy Ghost to help us see what God has done for us or for our loved ones... And we need him to help us to remember... So it's not enough to only think about the day, we have to seek the Spirit to help us to recognize those things.

So my commitment now is to follow President Eyring suggestion to write everyday how I saw God's hand in my and my loved ones life. And to do this I will take 15 min. or more to ponder about the day and seek for the Holy Ghost to show me and help me to understand what God has done for me...

A Royal Priesthood

A Royal Priesthood - President Thomas S. Monson
(http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-22,00.html)

It took me a really long time to understand and gain a testimony of the Priesthood. My dad isn't a member of the church, so I didn't grew up with this power in my home. It's only while serving my mission that I had an experience that helped me to understand what the Priesthood really is. My companion was having a little hard time and asked the elders for a blessing and I was really surprised, because I would never think of asking for a Priesthood blessing. So we met the elders at church and they gave her her blessing. Then they turned to me and asked me if I wanted one also and in my head I thought:"Me? No, I'm fine, thanks..." but my mouth said: " Yes, why not..." I then had one of the most spiritual experience of my life. I really understood what I knew in theory... The Priesthood IS really the power of God on earth and it's really God who works through those worthy men. Since then I've seen the Priesthood holder in a totally different way and I feel so grateful for this power that we have. Since my mission I have received many other blessings, when I was sick, when I had exams or hard decisions to make and my testimony has grown. I also had the opportunity to serve in the church on different level and working with my local leaders has also taught me a lot about the Priesthood leading and blessing the church, especially in women organisations.

So when President Monson talks about a Royal Priesthood and the marks of a true Priesthood holder, the spirit testifies to me how important it is for those men to strive to live by those marks. And more important it testifies to me how important it is for us women to sustain and encourage these men to do so and the best way is to not criticized them and live by those principles ourselves...

Live by Faith and Not by Fear

Live by Faith and Not by Fear - by Quentin L Cook

(http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-25,00.html)

Okay just a small thought about this... In his talk Elder Cook uses one of my favorite scripture... : “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.” (D&C 68:6) I'm the kind of person who likes to have control on things; I like when things are planned and I like to prepare... Well the problem is that life has a tendency to go the other way, and I get scared when I don't know how things will turn... And that is why this scripture is one of my favorite, because it tells me and reminds me that I shouldn't fear, because the Lord is with me (with all of us), he loves us more than we can understand! We "only" have to turn to him and believe him... believe that what he says is true. And when we trust him, we have faith and having faith in him will help us to walk through the storms of our lives, to keep going even the path seems hard and even if we don't understand everything... It doesn't mean that we won't experience failure or disappointment, but with him we will know that after all everything will be fine.

Good, Better, Best

Good, Better, Best - by Dallin H. Oaks
(http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-38,00.html)

As I was reading this talk two things caught my attention. First Elder Oaks says: "As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best. Even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all." Lately I felt like I was choosing the cheapest choices, because it was easier somehow... Those choices led to cheap results also and a feeling of emptiness. If we want to have things of great value in our life we have to pay the price and give our best efforts... And this is something I'd really like to change in my life right now. I know from experience that making sacrifices for something of great value brings much more than achieving something... it strengthen us, gives us a feeling of achievement and the desire to do always better...

The second thing I've been thinking about is: in what state of mind do I do thing...? Am I doing things because I was asked for or because it's a habit…? Or am I doing things with a purpose and with a real intent... Elder Oaks says: "Here are some other illustrations of good, better, and best: It is good to belong to our Father in Heaven's true Church and to keep all of His commandments and fulfill all of our duties. But if this is to qualify as "best," it should be done with love and without arrogance... To our hundreds of thousands of home teachers and visiting teachers, I suggest that it is good to visit our assigned families; it is better to have a brief visit in which we teach doctrine and principle; and it is best of all to make a difference in the lives of some of those we visit. That same challenge applies to the many meetings we hold—good to hold a meeting, better to teach a principle, but best to actually improve lives as a result of the meeting." Well, I DON'T want to do things only because I was asked to, or because it's my duty... I want to change people's life, I want to see beyond the simple task... I want to achieve a greater purpose...

Let's start...

As an art historian, I had to start my blog with a picture! One of my favourite; Eve taking the fruit in the garden of Eden (Cathédrale d'Autun, France). Why do I like this sculpture so much? Well to me it is the start of everything. When Eve decided to transgress God's commandment and eat of the fruit, she gave all of us the opportunity to come to this earth to have a body and grow through experiences. She could of stay in the beautiful garden but somehow she knew we had to go through this life. Even if life isn't easy and can be sometimes very painful, it's worth it! We are learning, we are growing... And after all, we are never alone, our Father in Heaven loves us and will always be with us, if only we would turn to him. And for all this I am grateful!