"Ammon said unto him: I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true;
And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God."
Alma 18:34-35
This is Ammon explaining the gospel to King Lamoni. I really like the explanation of the Spirit here, that it calls us, gives us knowledge, and grants us power, but also that it works according to our faith and desires.
Sometimes we misunderstand God and the purpose of all of this I think. We expect God to just give us whatever we want, and base our belief in his love on how well he complies with our wishes. ... But that is of course totally backwards from what the gospel is really about. The Spirit is a good example. Having the Spirit in our lives is a good gauge that lets us know whether our lives are in harmony with God or not. We're supposed to be learning to grow and improve and help and serve others, not just become more entrenched in demanding our own way. Kind of like growing out of being a toddler and perhaps occasionally learning to share. :)
The Spirit is of course a strength in our lives beyond being a good way to feel whether we are on the same page with God. When we *are* on the same page, the spirit can help us to know and do things that we wouldn't otherwise have access to. It can help us remember things, so feeding our memory scriptures is a really good way to allowing the spirit to pop one that we need into our minds at the right moment.
Today, let's work on our faith and our desire and remember that the gospel is internal as well as external... what we want *and* what we do. Let's work on love and service, as Ammon did, and trust that God will grant us knowledge and power when we need it.
And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God."
Alma 18:34-35
This is Ammon explaining the gospel to King Lamoni. I really like the explanation of the Spirit here, that it calls us, gives us knowledge, and grants us power, but also that it works according to our faith and desires.
Sometimes we misunderstand God and the purpose of all of this I think. We expect God to just give us whatever we want, and base our belief in his love on how well he complies with our wishes. ... But that is of course totally backwards from what the gospel is really about. The Spirit is a good example. Having the Spirit in our lives is a good gauge that lets us know whether our lives are in harmony with God or not. We're supposed to be learning to grow and improve and help and serve others, not just become more entrenched in demanding our own way. Kind of like growing out of being a toddler and perhaps occasionally learning to share. :)
The Spirit is of course a strength in our lives beyond being a good way to feel whether we are on the same page with God. When we *are* on the same page, the spirit can help us to know and do things that we wouldn't otherwise have access to. It can help us remember things, so feeding our memory scriptures is a really good way to allowing the spirit to pop one that we need into our minds at the right moment.
Today, let's work on our faith and our desire and remember that the gospel is internal as well as external... what we want *and* what we do. Let's work on love and service, as Ammon did, and trust that God will grant us knowledge and power when we need it.
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