Feb. 20, 2017
Scripture of the day: 

1 Peter 3: 15

• New Testament

15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear : 

I wrote this on Monday and didn't post it.

This scripture also came from church yesterday.  It is the theme for our stake this year.  I mentioned in a previous blog how I came to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

This scripture is in the New Testament so many Christians read these scriptures.  It is not uncommon for people of faith to be questioned about their faith.  Today in church it was talked about how we could possibly be ready to respond to such questions if we don't have things settled among ourselves.  This scripture is all about that.  If we first know what we believe, personally.  Then we are more than ready to answer questions.  But more important to knowing the answer intellectually is to be able to withstand the nature the question was asked.  It is also not uncommon for Christians to be questioned about our beliefs by someone who really doesn't want to hear our actual answer because they have it in their mind what they think we already believe. 

If we are close to the spirit, which takes the meekness and fear of God to have that spirit close, we will know whether it is important to answer such people or not.  The spirit knows us and them and knows what is in the heart of each person.

It is not uncommon for the ceremonies in our temples to be questioned.  There have been people who have managed to sneak their way into the building.  They have described the ceremonies they witnessed.  From the perspective of such a person these ceremonies seem silly, superficial, or they may even portrayed as having evil designs.  While members who enter the buildings after going through the process of a temple recommend interview those ceremonies are very personal and sacred.  The difference is the spirit with which each of the people who enter. The first one has a purpose to expose the church of such practises.  The second go to have an opportunity to learn directly from the Lord.  It is sacred because it is intensely personal.  What I get from the temple will be different than my neighbor.  My neighbor has different trials, afflictions and happenings from me.  They need different answers than I do.  The rituals performed are simple and meant to provide a baseline for which answers can come. 

That is not to say I can't get answers outside the temple, I do.  In an example, recently there was a movie, called, War Room.  The war room was where she prayed.  When the woman was selling her home a minister came past the room where she had set up her sacred place for praying and he could feel the difference in the spirit.  For a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that is our place. 

Whether your place is a temple or a "war room" in your home neither will happen without a definitive sanctification of ourselves in our minds and hearts. 

This morning I had a thought when I was in my bathroom getting ready for church. My husband and I had had an argument just before my going to the bathroom.  I was thinking about the argument and, yes, I was continuing to argue in my mind.  But I came to a resolution of sorts.  I realized I no longer knew my purpose.  I know I am still on this earth for a reason but right now I don't know what that is.  That thought stopped all the conversations that I was carrying on in my head.  At that point I just got more focused on getting ready for church, not really knowing what else to think.  I didn't have any more thoughts about it until the discussion we had at church about the ceremonies in the temple.  The stake president even said, (at least that is what I heard.) we find more purpose when we go to the temple.  So I don't have an answer to my purpose but I do know where I will get an answer. 

We will have to see what that is when I go next.

Until then I will just have my thoughts...