What or where is the most
holy place on earth? [pause] NO one
would argue against anywhere that Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ is currently
at. However, we know they are not
present on earth very frequently. There
are few recorded instances in the scriptures; Mount Sinai, Sacred Grove to
mention a few. Beyond that most would
say the Temples of the Church, then maybe meeting houses and other church
dedicated buildings. I ask of you today
– Are the 19 inches of bench you are currently sitting on holy?
Or more importantly are the
19 inches of sofa you will occupy later today holy? I’ll tell you why as we consider how where we
are currently standing can be a holy place.
The Bible Dictionary
specifies:
Holiness.
According to the O.T. things or places were holy that were set apart for a
sacred purpose; the opposite of holy is therefore common or profane…. Similarly
a holy person meant one who held a sacred office. … The
word holy therefore came to
refer to moral character.
“What you see and hear
depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of
person you are. -C. S. Lewis.”
Locations and places do not
necessarily define who we are but, they can have an influence on what we will
become. Just because you are at a bar
does not mean you’re an alcoholic.
Hanging around the Temple grounds all day does not therefore make us
Celestial Kingdom material. It sure can
help in comparison to an establishment that serves alcoholic beverages or
promotes something against the commandments.
“We unavoidably stand in so
many unholy places and are subjected to so much that is vulgar, profane, and
destructive of the Spirit of the Lord that I encourage our Saints all over the
world, wherever possible, to strive to stand more often in holy places. Our
most holy places are our sacred temples. Within them is a feeling of sacred
comfort. We should seek to be worthy to take our families to the temple to be
sealed together for eternity”
Standing in Holy Places
James E. Faust
Second Counselor in the
First Presidency
April 2005 http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/standing-in-holy-places
Also think of your home
computer or Television. At one moment
you can be watching the Prophet at a session of General Conference. A few clicks later you can be viewing images
or video that do not invite the spirit.
“Standing in holy places is
all about being in good company, whether you are alone or with others. It's
being where the Holy Ghost is our companion—alone or in a crowd. When we
determine within ourselves that we will control our thoughts and our actions
and be the best we can possibly be, the best of life will come to us.”
Standing in holy places
Sister Sharon G. Larsen
Second counselor, Young Women General Presidency
Published: Saturday, March
30, 2002
http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/41554/Standing-in-holy-places.html
Further more, Sister Larsen
mentions the following:
“It is possible the
loneliest times are when we are surrounded by people, even friends, who are
making wrong choices, and we have to stand alone. There are some places it
would not be safe for you to go even to help someone in need. The Lord said to
stand in holy places. There are
places where the Spirit would never be. You know where those places are. Stay
away from them. Do not encourage a curiosity that ought to be stopped. Pay
attention to what you are feeling so you will know when you are feeling unsure
or uneasy.”
Standing
in holy places
Sister
Sharon G. Larsen
Second counselor, Young Women General Presidency
Second counselor, Young Women General Presidency
Published:
Saturday, March 30, 2002
We agreed to come to this
earth and gain a body. We knew there
would be challenges. A plan was detailed
for us that we readily accepted. NO one
said it would be easy. Therefore, there
will be times when we have to make choices.
Sometimes really hard choices.
Doctrine & Covenants
87:8
Wherefore, stand
ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for
behold, it cometh bquickly,
saith the Lord. Amen.
Bishop Stevenson Presiding Bishop relates the
following story from the Priesthood Session of October 2012 Conference:
“Each of you will also have defining moments in your
life requiring courage. A friend of mine, John, shared with me one of those
moments in his life.
Some years ago, John was accepted at a prestigious
Japanese university. He would be part of the international student program with
many other top students from around the world. Some enrolled with a hope to
deepen their understanding of the culture and language, others viewed it as a
stepping-stone to an eventual profession and employment in Japan, but all had
left home to study in a foreign country.
Soon after John’s arrival, word of a party to be held
on the rooftop of a private residence spread among the foreign student
population. That evening, John and two friends made their way to the advertised
address.
Following an elevator ride to the top floor of the
building, John and his friends navigated the single narrow stairway leading to
the rooftop and began mingling with the others. As the night wore on, the
atmosphere changed. The noise, music volume, and alcohol amplified, as did
John’s uneasiness. Then suddenly someone began organizing the students into a
large circle with the intent of sharing marijuana cigarettes. John grimaced and
quickly informed his two friends that it was time to leave. Almost in ridicule,
one of them replied, “John, this is easy—we’ll just stand in the circle, and
when it is our turn, we’ll just pass it along rather than smoke it. That way we
won’t have to embarrass ourselves in front of everyone by leaving.” This
sounded easy to John, but it did not sound right. He knew he had to announce
his intention and act. In a moment he mustered his courage and told them that
they could do as they wished, but he was leaving. One friend decided to stay
and joined the circle; the other reluctantly followed John down the stairs to
board the elevator. Much to their surprise, when the elevator doors opened,
Japanese police officers poured out and hurried to ascend the stairs to the
rooftop. John and his friend boarded the elevator and departed.
When the police appeared at the top of the stairs,
the students quickly threw the illegal drugs off the roof so they wouldn’t be
caught. After securing the stairway, however, the officers lined up everyone on
the roof and asked each student to extend both hands. The officers then walked
down the line, carefully smelling each student’s thumbs and index fingers. All
who had held the marijuana, whether they had smoked it or not, were presumed
guilty, and there were huge consequences. Almost without exception, the
students who had remained on the rooftop were expelled from their respective
universities, and those convicted of a crime were likely deported from Japan.
Dreams of an education, years of preparation, and the possibility of future
employment in Japan were dashed in a moment.
Now let me tell you what happened to these three
friends. The friend who stayed on the roof was expelled from the university in
Japan to which he had worked so hard to be accepted and was required to return
home. The friend who left the party that night with John finished school in
Japan and went on to earn degrees from two top-tier universities in the United
States. His career took him back to Asia, where he has enjoyed immense
professional success. He remains grateful to this day for John’s courageous
example. As for John, the consequences in his life have been immeasurable. His
time in Japan that year led him to a happy marriage and the subsequent birth of
two sons. He has been a very successful businessman and recently became a
professor at a Japanese university. Imagine
how different his life would have been had he not had the courage to leave the
party on that important evening in Japan.3”
Be Valiant in Courage,
Strength, and Activity
By Bishop Gary E.
Stevenson Presiding Bishop October 2012 General Conference
Doctrine & Covenants
115:5
Verily I say unto you all: aArise and
shine forth, that thy blight may
be a cstandard
for the dnations;
Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you
to serve the Lord, achoose you bthis day whom
ye will cserve; whether
the gods which your fathers served that were on
the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye
dwell: but as for me and my dhouse, we will eserve the Lord.
“Our Heavenly Father did not
launch us on our eternal journey without providing the means whereby we could
receive from Him God-given guidance to assist in our safe return at the end of
mortal life. I speak of prayer. I speak too of the whisperings from that still,
small voice within each of us, and I do not overlook the Holy Scriptures,
written by mariners who successfully sailed the seas we too must cross.”
Thomas S. Monson, “The
Three Rs of Choice,” Ensign, Nov. 2010,
Truly we do not have to be
like unto Lewis Carroll’s Alice in the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and
Through the Looking Glass. You may
remember that at one point she was what some would say lost in the forest. The Cheshire Cat was asked by Alice which
path she should use as she lamented on the confusion of the signs and
directions available. The Cheshire Cat
who gave some sage advice told her any path would do since she had not
particular goal in mind. The worm in the
Movie Labyrinth also gave some great advice to Sarah as she began to navigate
the maze in search of her baby brother.
However, since she did not listen long enough she wasted much more time
getting to her final destination and goal.
We don’t have to be the wandering soul with no goal in mind. We have that goal. And we also are constantly given the
directions we need as long as we will listen and head the advice and promptings
of the spirit.
“Every time you make a
choice, you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses,
into something a little different from what it was before. And, taking your
life as a whole, with all your innumerable
choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either
into a Heaven creature or into a hellish creature -- either into a creature
that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else
into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow
creatures and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is Heaven: that is,
it is joy, and peace, and knowledge, and power. To be the other means madness,
horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each
moment is progressing to the one state or the other.”
Christianity Quotes – CS Lewis
Christianity Quotes – CS Lewis
Technically speaking we can
not be fence sitters or non-progressing.
We are either moving forward in our progression to eternal life or we
are slipping back thus losing ground. There
is no such thing as autopilot when it comes to eternal progression. Unfortunately, it is a constant battle, one
we wage each day.
“But remember that the
Savior himself was tormented, ridiculed, spat upon, and finally crucified
because he would not waver in his conviction. Have you ever stopped to think
what would have happened had he weakened and said, “Oh, what’s the use?” and
abandoned his mission? Do we want to be quitters, or do we want to be valiant
servants in spite of all the opposition and evil in the world? Let us have the
courage to stand up and be counted as true, devoted followers of Christ.”
For They Loved the Praise of
Men More Than the Praise of God
President N. Eldon Tanner First
Counselor in the First Presidency Ensign November 1975
Elder Whiting in the most
recent conference talks of a time when he inspected a mostly finished temple in
Hawaii and the imperfections that were found.
He was also surprised at the fixes actually being made to these
seemingly insignificant parts of the temple.
“Why would walls with a
little grit and a window with a little asymmetry require additional work and
even replacement when few human hands or eyes would ever know? Why was a
contractor held to such high standards?
As I exited the temple deep
in thought, I found my answer as I looked up at the refinished exterior and saw
these words: “Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord.”
The temples of this Church
are precisely as proclaimed. These sacred buildings are built for our use, and within
their walls sacred and saving ordinances are performed. But there should be no
doubt as to whose house it really is. By requiring exacting standards of
construction down to the smallest of details, we not only show our love and
respect for the Lord Jesus Christ,
but we also hold out to all observers that we honor and worship Him whose house
it is.”
Temple Standard by Elder Scott D. Whiting of the Seventy October 2012 General Conference
It is clear we are always refining ourselves. We need to hold ourselves to a higher
standard. The Lord knows we can do it,
we know we can do it. The helps are there. We can succeed.
Let me summarize briefly a few of the helps the Lord
has provided for our use that will help us to stand in Holy Places.
- Holy Ghost and his promptings
- Scriptures and other church literature like the Ensign
- Prayer
- Sunday Meetings and the Sacrament
- Temple Attendance
- Church Music
With this plethora of helps it is obvious the Lord
wants us to succeed. We simple need to
reach out and take it. He’s stand at the
door with no handle on his side. We have
to take the initiative and open the door so he can come more fully into our
lives.
In Conclusion I’d like to
quote from our dear Prophet Thomas S Monson.
“If any of you has stumbled
in your journey, I want you to understand without any question whatsoever that
there is a way back. The process is called repentance. Our Savior gave His life
to provide you and me that blessed gift. Despite the fact that the repentance
path is not easy, the promises are real. We have been told: “Though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”6
“And I will remember [them] no more.”7
What a statement. What a blessing. What a promise.”
Dare to Stand Alone Thomas S.
Monson President of the Church
General Conference October 2011
{End}
Buaidh - NO - Bas
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