And that was Christmas. I feel like Christmas has
this huge buildup towards it and then all of the sudden....it's all done.
Sad. I did enjoy having second Christmas. Maybe we should start
that tradition at home : ) It was nice seeing you all on Christmas!
Well....almost of you haha. I feel like sometimes I begin to forget what
it is like at home but being able to hear your voices and see you, helps me to
remember the joy that you guys bring to me. Not to sounds cheezy or
anything. It's hard to imagine that so much has changed. I never
knew so much could have changed in one short year! You guys looked
amazing.
This week was a special Christmas for myself. It was my first
Christmas away from family. Every Christmas I have spent with
family. This was a new experience to go through. This Christmas
helped me to remember the things I love, treasure and find most important in my
life and also to help me remember that I have all of these because of a child
whose birth we remember during the Christmas season. The greatest gift of
all. Our Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
I got to reflect a lot on this event. I had the opportunity to
focus a lot of thought and time on His life. What he did, His purpose, His
goals and His example. Everything he did, he did out of love.
Everything he did, he did out of love for you and me, and for his Father in
Heaven. He did everything to benefit God the Eternal Father and for
everyone on this earth who accepts him.
As I was reading my scriptures this week, I became captivated in Alma
chapter 5. Particularly with the topic Alma 5 : 13 ''...and a
mighty change was also wrought in their hearts....'' A mighty change
of heart. This is a process that I feel can easily be forgotten about.
Me being me, I like seeing results that occur right away. Like in
football when I would catch an interception. The momentum of the game was
immediately changed and we went from defense to offense just like that. I saw
the result from my actions in a blink of an eye. It's easy to forget the
training that was done to help me become the player that would be able to keep
up with the receivers and learn how to anticipate a pass coming my way.
There was a process that helped me become that defensive back that was blessed
to see the success that he did.
A mighty change in heart is indeed a process that takes time and
patience. We don't always see or recognize the changes we make as we work
with our Saviour to experience, ''...a mighty change in heart...''. I
don't really have a good answer for you as to how one can gauge their progress
in a mighty change in heart. haha. I am also learning how one could
do such a thing. Life is a great journey of faith and that is the
greatest measurement of progression that I have found. It is to continue
in faith as I do all I can to apply the teachings from the scriptures, praying
and speaking with my Heavenly Father about my day in the best of detail I
can. As I continue to exercise my faith in the words of my Heavenly
Father and Saviour by applying their words through the words of the prophets, I
can rely on my Heavenly Father that he will help change my motives and become
more Christ-like. Maybe trying to find our changes is not the best thing
that we could do. Maybe it's like finding a specific answer to a prayer.
As we look for specifics, we blind ourselves from seeing the real
answers/progress.
Relax and trust, that as we prayerfully feast upon the words of Christ
and become more aware with our Saviour's character, these things will become
more a part of our life. It is most likely different for all of us but I
know that we all need the same thing to experience a mighty change of
heart. We need the direction and help from our Heavenly Father. We
will need to be thinking from in to out.
''When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed...
''The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from outside in.
The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out
of the people, and they take themselves out of the slums. The world would
mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then
change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but
Christ can change human nature...
''Yes. Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world.
''Not only would they die for the Lord, but more important they want to
live for Him.
''They have Christ on their minds, as they look unto Him in every
thought...
This Christmas helped me to focus my mind to be more on Christ. He
works with us to change and we will experience a mighty change in heart as we
choose to follow Him. It’s nice to follow Christ. I can't tell you
what exactly has changed in my life, but I can tell you that Christ changes our
hearts as we follow Him and His teachings. He lives and He is with us all the
way. Let’s work with Him more and more. Let's get in the groove of
speaking to Him regularly and becoming more acquainted in following His
guidance. He loves us all. He showed that by suffering and sacrificing His
own life for us. As we follow this example and ''sacrifice'' ourselves
for others...with the teachings and truths of our Saviour, we will come to see
Him more in our life.
Love you all and I hope you have an awesome New Year! Let’s
start it off in a positive note!
Love,
Elder Holt
Elder Holt