Good Dog!

Dogs, a mans best friend! Being in Montana, I can safely assume that most people who read this will have a dog or at least know someone with a dog! And whoever knows the first thing about domestic dogs knows that they are first and foremost completely reliant on us humans for food, water, care, shelter, and love. They know that we control their life while they live in our homes. We can also train these dogs to do different tasks, such as sit, roll over, and even "fetch my slippers!" (That one is WAY COOL!!!) When these dogs are obedient to us and our commands, we reward them with treats and extra love, but when they are disobedient and destructive, we correct their actions and maybe even punish them so they know what they are doing is wrong.

This relationship is a lot like ours with our Heavenly Father! We are all reliant on Him to give us what we need to survive every day, to bless us when we are doing right and to correct us when we are wrong. We owe EVERYTHING to Him and if we remember this, we will be more willing to be obedient to His commandments which will in turn bring blessings into our lives which will be better than a treat!

King Benjamin puts it best:  "For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?" (Mosiah 4:19)

When we humble ourselves and put our faith in the Lord, we can reap all of the blessings He has in store for us and if we are obedient, He will teach us all the things that we need to do in order to return to Him!

Good enough?

Have you ever been at a point in life where you are just happy and everything is going well. I would guess that we have all been there at points. We have all been content with one thing or another in our lives. It is easy to get lazy when life is going well. I know that I am more willing to work to improve my situation when it is below my normal comfort level. But is this how life should be? Should we content?

Look at professional athletes of all kinds, do they settle for staying the same and continuing to maintain the level that they are playing at? Or do they continually practice and improve their already above average talents? Will a car manufacturer who just made one of the top cars on the market quit making cars and call it good since they are on top? Or will they continue to find ways to improve their product and make an even better one?

The world keeps pressing forward and improving, even if it is already in a good spot. We should have that same urgency to continually press forward and continue our spiritual progression. There is always room for improvement and growth, especially in the Gospel. Our only comparisons we should make in this life are comparing our current state to our past to see which direction we are going in, and comparing our lives to the life of our Savior to see how much farther we have to go.

We cannot be exactly like Christ in this life, but the whole goal is to try with every ounce of being that we posses to live a life as close as humanly possible to what Christ would do if he were in our very shoes. If we are content with where we are at, we are missing the opportunity to grow, learn, and progress towards our goal, ETERNAL LIFE.

Remember the words of Nephi when he said, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20 emphasis added)

Keep going, keep pushing, it will ALL be worth it.