Temple experiences from this last week...

The picture above is of my 3rd Great Grandfather and Mother James Edmonson Wilson and Mary Annette Swissgood.

This last week I had the privilege to participate in ordinance work for some of my deceased ancestors. On Tuesday, my brother Javen took his son River to the temple for his first experience doing baptisms for the dead. Javen baptized River on behalf of his 4th great grandfather, James Edmonsen Wilson (Pictured Above). Then, Javen confirmed River and bestowed the Gift of the Holy Ghost for James.

It was so awesome to see my nephew have his first temple experience as a deacon. It was so great that he could have that experience with his father, and for one of his own ancestors.

That evening, my wife Jessica went to the temple to stand in for my 5th Great Grandmother Jane McCumsey. She participated in the initiatory ordinance and endowment for and on behalf of Jane. Jessica said that when she first got to the temple she felt a rush of excitement come over her. She felt like Jane was anxious to get into the temple and get started. All through the initiatory she continued to feel this sense of excitement.

When she got into the chapel to wait for the endowment session she felt a little calmer as if Jane new she was closer to her goal. Then at the end of the endowment she felt a sense of joy and peace as Jane had finally received those sacred ordinances.

The next morning I stood in for my 5th, 4th, and 3rd Great Grandfathers in the initiatory ordinances for them. (John Wilson (Jane McCumsey's Husband) > Samuel Wilson (their Son) > and James Edmonsen Wilson. (Pictured and Samuel's Son)) Usually they want you to take at least 5 names through. Since I had three names they asked if I would take a couple more. I said I would. They gave me the cards with those extra two names and I went to wait my turn.

I looked down and thumbed through the cards to see the names of the other two brethren I was taking through. To my surprise I found that the other two names also had the last name of "Wilson." They were brothers who lived in Ohio and who's family must be connected to the Wilson family I was taking through that day because they didn't live far from where my Wilson's lived. I haven't confirmed this yet, but I felt the Spirit strongly as I looked at those names. I don't believe it was a coincidence.

Next week I will join my brothers Jared and Javen to standing in for these same grandfathers so they can receive their endowments.

I have a testimony of the temple. I know that the Lord is turning the hearts of the children to their fathers and the fathers to their children through that sacred work. The Gospel is true. I pray that all may come to drink at the waters of life.


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Using the Gift of The Holy Ghost

After we are baptized it is extremely important that we don't think all is done. We have only begun our journey back to Heavenly Father. Gratefully we are given a most fantastic gift and guide on our journey.. The Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead. He knows all things. He is all powerful. He is wonderful.

Here are a few ways He can help you:

1. He can help you understand what is true

2. He can reveal knowledge from God to you

3. He can warn you of danger

4. He can help you overcome temptation

5. He can sanctify you. (meaning He literally can make you Holy)

After we have been cleansed of our sins through the atonement, we gain the companionship of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.

When a priesthood holder lays his hands on your head he will use the words: "Receive the Holy Ghost" in the process of giving you this gift. This means that it's up to us to receive this gift by obeying Him. If we will do this He will lead us on a path back to our Heavenly Father. He will actually aid us in our quest to change not only our desire for sin, but also our ability to truly become Holy and sanctified.

Simply put, eventually we will become like God. This brings more meaning to the word "atonement'. No longer is it just designed to bring us back to God, but also to become "at one" with Him. Meaning we have become like Him.

This sanctification process can only happen as fast as we are willing to obey the promptings of the Holy Ghost. The Temple can help us to keep our focus on obeying the voice of the Holy Ghost.

The Book of Mormon Prophet/King Benjamin said:

19 For the ^anatural ^bman is an ^cenemy to God, and has been from the ^dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he ^eyields to the enticings of the Holy ^fSpirit, and ^gputteth off the^hnatural man and becometh a ⁱsaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a ^jchild, ^ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

We can see from this scripture that if we yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and exercise the atonement of Jesus Christ, we will actually change our very natures. We become holy and sanctified.

The Apostle Paul said we should:

1 Thes. 5: 19

19 Quench not the Spirit.

And

Gal. 5: 16

16 This I say then, ^aWalk in the ^bSpirit, and ye shall not fulfil the ^clust of the flesh.

The Book of Mormon Prophet Alma said:

Alma 34: 38

38 That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.

When the spirit directs us we need to make sure to obey it. If we don't we will lose the influence of the Spirit until we repent.

So it stands to reason that the more we walk in the Spirit (meaning we obey the Holy Ghost) the closer we will come to God. The more like God we will be.

In Galatians Chapter 5 we read:

22 But the ^afruit of the ^bSpirit is ^clove, ^djoy, ^epeace, ^flongsuffering, ^ggentleness, goodness, ^hfaith,

23 ^aMeekness, ^btemperance: against such there is no law.

24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the ^aaffections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The end goal is to actually become one with God by becoming like Him.

1 Jn. 3: 2

2 Beloved, now are we the ^asons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall ^bappear, we shall be ^clike him; for we shall ^dsee him as he is.

I invite you to come unto Christ, and be perfected through the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost. He can heal your heart. He can change your base desires. He can bring you a fullness of joy.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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Mother's Music.

In a revelation given to the prophet Joseph Smith the Lord said:

D&C 25: 12

12 For my soul ^adelighteth in the ^bsong of the ^cheart; yea, the ^dsong of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

This simple scripture shows us that Music is important to the Lord and is also a great way for us to worship, pray, and testify of Him.

I grew up in a home filled with music. This was mostly because of my mother. She has a wonderful singing voice and is very talented. I think if my mom had chosen a different road in life, she would have ended up as a famous singer, actor, dancer or performer.

But as it was, her heart was in raising her children and living the Gospel. She chose to use her talents for the building of the kingdom. Almost every church calling she served in had to do with music or performing.

She was always singing at church services, wedding receptions, funerals, or other functions. She was often chosen to direct and produce plays and musicals for both church and the community.

At one point she taught over 100 students vocal, dancing and performing lessons.

Some of my earliest memories are of her teaching me songs.

This influence of music had a great impression on my family. Three of my Brothers went on to careers in the performing arts, most all of us play a musical instrument, and all of us love music.

Having said of of this, there was nothing more sacred to me than to hear my mother singing the hymns.

I remember many times sitting on the benches and bending my ear towards the sound of my Mother singing those sacred songs. I'd often seen her "perform" music. But this was a different kind of singing. The sound of her voice, raised in testimony of the Savoir, the restoration, and gospel principles, spoke to me in ways other music could not.

I could tell when she sang these songs, it wasn't to perform, but rather to testify. I can think of no more profound testimony of Jesus Christ that I've ever heard then that of my Mother singing. Her voice wasn't the the out of control vibrato that you would here from many of the of the other ladies in church, but instead it was a soft sacred sound.

I didn't recognize it until later in life, but I now understand the feelings I was feeling as a child as I heard my mother sing were nothing less than the whisperings of the Holy Spirit testifying to my heart that Jesus Christ really is my savior.

Since then, I've tried to sing the sacred hymns to my own children. I like to sit on the rocking chair with them in my lap while I sing them to sleep. It is one of my favorite things to do. I don't have the angelic voice of my mother, but I hope they will hear more than my voice. Just like I did when my mother sang to me. I hope they will feel the Holy Ghost testifying to their hearts of the truthfulness of the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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Forgiving Others

Jesus made it very clear that to obtain forgiveness for our sins, we must forgive others:

Matt. 6: 12, 14-15

12 And forgive us our ^adebts, as we ^bforgive our debtors.

• • •

14 For if ye ^aforgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15 But if ye ^aforgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

One of the unique ideas that has come from modern revelation, is the insight that the atonement of Jesus Christ helps us with more than just gaining forgiveness of our own sins. It also helps us with our "infirmities".

An infirmity could be anything from a sickness (mental or physical), pain, sorrow, guilt, temptation, fear, or any other thing that would make us infirm. This includes the grace to forgive others.

In the Book of Mormon we read:

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and ^aafflictions and ^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit ^aknoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the ^bflesh that he might ^ctake upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

Before carrying out the atonement, the Lord surely knew "all things." However, when he actually carried out the atonement, He experienced all the pain, sickness, and other infirmities of every person who has ever lived, and will live on the earth. The scriptures don't explain how this actually works, but they are clear that He did this so "that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities."

For Jesus to fully pay the price for both our sins, and the sin of Adam he had to plumb the depths, breadth, and heights of human suffering, sorrow, and infirmity. So when we say that God understands what you are going through, He really does. He doesn't just understand in some academic way. But He understands from experience.

Yet, He is still willing to forgive us of our sins. How could you not love a God who knows everything bad you have ever done, who has felt every pain you have ever felt, who has suffered everything you have ever suffered, and who still loves you fully and completely.

There are some things that others do to us that are not all that hard to forgive. But there are other grievances that cause us such sorrow, pain, and suffering that we simply don't have the ability to forgive without the help of the Lord.

I will not try to make a list of these items here because this depends on the individual, and the "trespass" involved.

But I will say that when we refuse to forgive others, it holds us back. In fact, from modern revelation we learn that:

D&C 64:9

9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to ^aforgive one another; for he that ^bforgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.

The words "for there remaineth in him the greater sin." should give us all something to think about. The Lord actually views the sin of not forgiving as a greater sin than anything that another might do to us.

That is a hard pill to swallow. However, when we view these words through the lenses of the atonement we understand that God can give us power to forgive others. If we will humbly ask Him to help us forgive, He will, in His own way, help us be liberated from the shackles of hurt others have caused. He will heal our wounded souls. He will give us power to forgive.

This may not come over night. But if we continually seek this blessing, it will come. The first step is deciding to forgive, then asking God to help you do so fully. God uses the process of forgiveness to help us heal and grow. If we refuse to forgive we are cutting off our personal progression.

Please don't get the wrong idea. I'm not saying this is easy. I'm not trying to comdemn anyone who is struggling with forgiving others. I am, however, saying that there is peace, healing, progression, and happiness if we will seek the Lord's help and grace to forgive others.

Without God, I believe this is impossible. With God all things are possible.

I once met a lady who wanted to be baptized. She had read the Book of Mormon, she had a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But she felt like she couldn't be baptized because she couldn't bring herself to forgive a man who had sexually abused her as a child and all through her growing up years.

My heart breaks when I think of this experience because it is a misunderstanding of scripture. God does not require us to be perfect to enter into His covenant of Baptism. He just requires a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" Baptism is just one of the first principles of the gospel. The ability to forgive fully others does not disqualify a person from getting baptized. In fact, the covenant of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost will help you on your way to heal from such terrible crimes against you. They give one greater access to the grace and healing power of the atonement.

I testify that healing can come through the grace of Jesus Christ and the power of forgiving others. I testify that we can forgive, with the help of God. I testify that He will forgive you, if you will seek him.

There is peace on this side of baptism. I invite you to come unto Christ through faith, repentance, baptism, and the receiving of the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I invite you take advantage of the healing power of Jesus Christ.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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