The Sacredness of the Name of the Lord

I have been pondering much about the name of the Lord, and more particularly how it is used in today's language. I had been thinking greatly about this because of a common 3 letter acronym, respectively "OMG", that is used quite frequently by what seems to be the vast majority of persons. As I thought about it's use and about how much it is accepted by all, I was triggered to some serious contemplation.

Earlier this week in my Doctrine and Covenants Class, we studied Section 63, and by complete convenience we read vs. 61-62 which  reads;
          
"Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their lips- For behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this condemnation, who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority."

This spurred a class discussion in the which my professor asked about that three letter acronym. The responses of the class were varied. Some, including myself, modify it to express that we wish to say "gosh" instead of it's intended purpose, and some just out rightly use it. As I furthered thinking upon the subject in my meditative walks home from campus. I felt strongly that such acronyms should never be used. To use such a phrase would show that we support its real use. Remember that we are "under condemnation" if we use the name of the Lord in vain.

Refrain from taking the name of the Lord in vain, in any form. This does include the usage of such an acronym or any other slang word used to express such an idea. Our language should be distinguished, dignified and pure especially as members of the Church of Jesus Christ. I invite all of you to think about the nature in which you use the Lord's name, and start the repentance process if necessary. I know that the Spirit of the Lord will be more abundant and potent in your lives if you follow this counsel.

The Priesthood: Power endowed from on high

Over the past few weeks/months, I have seen many who have been in  dire need of divine help through the power of the Priesthood. Let me give an example. This last weekend, I was stage managing the men's and women's chorus performance here on campus. An issue of a choir member, who was feeling ill, came to my attention, and requested some special things for the performance. Unable to provide the services requested, I simply reminded her that my Assistant Stage Manager (ASM) and I had the priesthood, and oil should she so desire a blessing. I knew that a blessing would have helped her immensely, and that she would have felt much better after, but whatever the reason may be, she denied the divine help that we could have offered.

This is not an isolated case. This happens time and time again. A worthy priesthood bearer endowed with the power of the Priesthood who is willing to give a blessing is rejected, time and time again. Why do we reject these blessings? What makes us turn away from the divine assistance that we need? The answers are numberless and varied. It it because we don't want to inconvenience the Priesthood bearer or because our needs aren't "serious" enough to  call upon the miraculous  powers of the priesthood? One's reasons will vary but i feel that these two might be the most common.

It always breaks my heart to see someone in need deny a priesthood blessing. Let me say this now, "no need is to small, no priesthood bearer will feel inconvenienced and our Heavenly Father's love for you won't lessen if you accept a blessing. On the contrary, you're faith in Him will increase, He will show you how much He loves you, and it gives the brother the opportunity to serve and magnify his Priesthood responsibilities.  Never feel bad, embarrassed, not worthy, or to small to ask for a Priesthood blessing. We have it to bless the lives of those around us. Do not hesitate to receive of it's full powers."

I hope that if you are need, that this might stir you're soul enough to call down the powers of heaven to bless your life. Priesthood power is real, I testify that it was restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith on the banks of the Susquehanna to continue the work forward and to be an aide to us in our lives. May we all, understand and implement these sacred powers more into our lives!

Obtaining Knowledge

The semester is basically half over. Eight weeks (September and the majority of October) have passed by so quickly, it's difficult to believe that this semester is already half over.  With school pressing on sending a wave of new exams, material, stresses, failures and successes. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of information that one can learn in such a short amount of time.

As important as gaining secular knowledge is for our temporal progression in life, such as finding jobs, graduating from school and supporting our families, just as important as all things temporal, is our progression in spiritual knowledge. "For behold this life is the time for men to prepare to me God." (Alma 34: 32)

To what, then, values our temporal progression? I think many times, especially in a school setting, we get wrapped up in tests, exams and our GPA. We loose the whole point of going to school in trivial things and forget the eternal purposes that school holds for us.  It is important to remember that as
Man is, our Heavenly Father was, and as our Heavenly Father is, man will become. Hence we can clearly see the importance of learning about Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, the Arts, and all other subjects so that we too might be able to further along our Spiritual progression and be prepared to create worlds without number as our Father has.

The whole purpose of this life is to learn all that we can, for the life that follows this one. "And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come." I strongly believe that we will be expected to learn more after this life. It would be completely contrary to the plan of our Heavenly Father for our learning to stop after this life was over.

As the semester zips by, I hope that we might be able to really think about why we are learning what we are and to obtain once again the eternal perspective that our Heavenly Father wants us to have. Learning should never be considered a burden, enjoy learning all that you can for it is in learning that our Eternal progression is furthered. So when school gets hard and stressful, just remember the reason why you are obtaining knowledge. 

BIENVENIDOS!!

Welcome to the blog of all blogs! This is not going to be the run of the mill blog, but an over the top extraordinary blog that will probably never be read than more than 20 people tops. hahaha That just means that we need to make it more epic. Which means that I will need your help. Let's be honest here, I'm pretty dull.

Let me explain to the world why I would ever want to blog. One night about.. hmm... lets say 7-8 weeks ago (just because I like the numbers 7 and 8) a friend had invited me over for some of the best pico de gallo salsa this side of the boarder could make. (It really was epic!) She offered the suggestion that I should write a blog. I wondered why for the longest time unsure if what I had to say would be received well by those who read it. I assume you'll like what you read because you probably know me, and will then understand my jokes... hopefully (keep me posted).  But more importantly, I contemplated if what i was going to say would really make an impact on the world around me. And that is really the why factor behind this blog.  

During my two years of Missionary service, I learned of the power that words can have on those around us, especially if what we say is uplifting and inspiring. I plan to use this blog to do just that, lift and inspire. You will probably recognize that this blog will contain many points of doctrine.  Most of the doctrine will have come from something that i read, from my personal Study in the morning or something I've been thinking about for a while.  If you have questions of doctrine or wish for me to comment on anything, just send me an email or whatever and comments will be made.

I hope that you enjoy reading. I hope that the Spirit might testify of these things to you and that I might be used as an instrument in the Lord's hands through this blog.

Stay tuned for blog posts...

Matthew McCatney