Along the same lines of laying hold on every good thing I have been thinking more and more about how to acquire a strong faith that is similar to the faith that is talked about in the scriptures.  I realize that we talk about faith so much in church yet I feel like I don't really live as if I have a strong faith.  Yes, I go to church,  pay tithes,and pray.  But, I don't know if I have the "and ll things are possible to him that believes" kind of faith that is talked about in the scriptures.  If I I don't have that kind of faith it makes me wonder if I am missing the point.  Especially, when I look around and see people who don't even believe in the same God that I believe in doing some very miraculous things.

Not that I believe that my faith and religion should have a corner on the miracles market,  but I believe I should be equipped to experience as much or more in the way of miracles than pretty much any other belief system.  But, when I look around I don't see this as being the case. If I have faith shouldn't I be able to do great things but it seems as though in reality I struggle doing even small things.  If I had faith everything I touched would turn to gold.  I would be like President Monson and would be able to say just a few words to people and would be able to help change the course of their life.  I would be able to find the time to big time magnify my calling and make a difference at church.  One way of describing it is that I would be living an elevated life dealing with bigger ideas.

So, I am searching for a deeper understanding on what faith is and how to transform my life with it.  It seems that the deepest discussion we end up having on faith at church is that it is a muscle and we have to exercise it and that we exercise it by getting out of our comfort zone.  

So, in my effort to learn more about faith I have opened myself up to learn from all reasonable sources.  Lately, I have been fixated on the concept that if you can see your desired future state very clearly in your mind it will become reality.  I have known about this concept for awhile and for some reason feel like it is true, an d lately this thought has hit me with more force. One scripture says that faith is the substance of things hoped for which seems to suggest that faith is a substance or perhaps it is the seed of faith developing first in your mind and then manifesting in reality...    

I guess you could say that it is similar to the concept taught in the book 'the secret'.  It is that you visualize your future, which is in line with God's will, and you affirm it, and you just simply believe it will come to pass and it happens.  You just tell yourself over and over again in the present tense what your future is and things end up lining in place until it happens.  

I have been asking myself is this the practical explanation of what faith really is?  Is it that simple or am I veering from the scriptures and getting a little too new agey?  

It makes me think of miracles mentioned from the scriptures and how they I know I cut this short but I will have to continue later.

Next time I want to discuss who can I look to right now as an example of the kind of faith that I want to have.  Also, is faith really just a firm belief that something in God's will and my will, will happen in the future and so the trick is to just get that future image firmly implanted in my mind?  I know this question seems random but how does quantum physics fit into this?  

I have a lot to learn...

Lay hold upon every good thing

The invitation to lay hold upon every good thing in the scriptures and also to touch not the unclean thing I think is so important in these times.  I have thought about what it means to lay hold upon every good thing and over the past year or so have thought that it means to actively look for and grab on and hold on to all the good that is out in the world. 

In these days where we can so easily search for and find any kind of content it becomes more important to have the discipline to  not randomly surf the Internet but to have a purpose in what we are searching and more importantly, it is important that our purpose is good and worthwhile.  

Here is the scripture I was referring to:

Moroni 7

 19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.

This command took a new turn for me today as I thought about it.  More specifically, I think I should lay hold and treasure any kind of thought, idea, information, person, motivational thought, picture, video, song, movie, place, media, news, or anything else, that will motivate, inspire, or help me in any way to find out and accomplish my life's mission or purpose. 

It is challenging to even figure out what our mission in life is, let alone start to live it and accomplish it.  That is why it is so important to look for and grab those nuggets of knowledge and inspiration that push us to do it. 

I think that as you lay hold on all the good things that push you to accomplish your purpose and passion you are actually just making your goals more real, you are creating a mental image of success which I will discuss further below.

Laying hold on positive media that directly leads you toward your best self means that you try to make these positive ideas tangible in your life.  I think examples of laying hold on all good things are to do the following:

1. Actively searching for good media, people, ideas, etc. that will help us accomplish our life purpose.
2.  When we see it, hear it, feel it, touch it and so on we grab it.  This means we try to capture the essence of the thought and record it so we can better remember it. Or we build the relationships with the people that will help us succeed. We grab hold of those people and don't let them go.

3.  In the case it is a thought or idea we do the following:
4.  We record it to remember it.
5.  We write it to remember it.
6.  We take a photo of it to remember it.
7.  Then we share the thought or idea.
8.  Then we display the thought or idea so that we don't forget it.  We remind ourselves of it and use it to continue to get a clearer vision of what our goals are.

This following quote I think is so important in all of this:

"Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture."

Norman Vincent Peale

For my purposes, success means accomplishing my life's purpose.  I believe that laying hold on all good things is key to developing that mental picture that is key to having faith and succeeding.

Lately, I have been trying to figure out how to keep those good thoughts in the forefront of my mind.  How do you keep the most moving, powerful thoughts in the forefront of your mind as you try and stay on the path to success?

Do not control your children

Success with people by helping them feel important

“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, "Make me feel important." Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life."