New Resolve

I am so grateful for the tools that we latter day saints have at our disposal. Having General Conference is wonderful; being able to TIVO conference for our convenience is awesome. Additionally, if you don't like that format, it's provided in the written word the following month. And now, you can download it for free from iTunes as a podcast to listen to whenever (which is my preferred method). You can even download the entire Ensign magazine conference report to your handheld device or computer for free to read when you're in the doctor's office or standing in a line. I like that method too because you can annotate it on your computer and easily refer back to the parts that affected you the most.

We have scriptures also in every format as well as all of the church publications. I carry my handheld (iPaq) to church every Sunday and that's it. It has my scriptures, hymnbook, gospel principles, gospel doctrine and relief society manual on it, not to mention every Ensign I have ever downloaded. It's amazing!

For those of us who live in Utah, we have a plethora of neighbors who are LDS, and a church within walking distance. We have activities several times of month, as well as the weekly block of meetings. Additionally, as if that weren't enough, we Utah mormons all have a temple (again within usually a 10-15 minute drive - though we could walk if we had to).

And then there's the music...CD's, broadcasts, TV, iPod, what have you. It's all available to those who want it.

Compare this to early mormons who usually managed to meet weekly although sometimes at risk of their own lives. Most eventually were able to get copies of the Book of Mormon I suppose but the contrast is quite clear. A church building...how about a member's home. And temples...well, we know that story. There were no publications, no manuals, no general conference address broadcast over the world. I guess they can one-up us in that Joseph Smith was their neighbor and consequently, were able to learn first-hand from him.

We take for granted these wonderful blessings that are here to help strengthen our testimonies and convictions. Are we utilizing these tools? All of the resources put in place to help us?

Life is hard, and staying resolved to increase our testimonies is a constant struggle. Even with all of the resources, it can be difficult to stay focused on our true goal.

I have decided to begin fasting weekly again, and I started today. I decided that because since I stopped several months ago, I've never had such faith-building experiences as when I was fasting for my marriage. And although my marriage has made giant steps, it is still far from its intended goal. And the edges of that goal were starting to grow fuzzy. I hadn't lost sight of it but I wasn't having the faith in it like I was when I was fasting. I also believe that the reasons why my marriage is the way it is now, is because of my fasting. Like I said in my last post, such strident results can not be just from my own feeble efforts.

I am excited by my new resolve and have such faith in its potential. My strongest testimony is of fasting. It's truly amazing.