Blessings Worth Sharing

Before I want to begin, I just want to point out that this list is not going to be a comprehensive one, and that the blessings will be listed in no particular order. If I left out a few, or several, of your favorite blessings of the gospel, feel free to add them in a comment (If you can. I know the visitors from Facebook sometimes have trouble posting comments. Try clicking on "The Armor of God" at the top of the page, then navigating back to this blog post, "Blessings Worth Sharing," using the links in the sidebar, if you have to. I think you should be able to post a comment then). But honestly, most of this list will probably be big important blessings that I'm pretty sure they can't get in other churches, and a few of the smaller blessings that I'm especially fond of, again, in no particular order.

The Book of Mormon - This is one of the blessings that I'm sure is exclusive to our church (and a few split-off groups). The Book of Mormon is more than an exciting adventure book (which it is, in some places) and an interesting piece of history. It also helps to clear up some areas of doctrine that the Bible leaves fuzzy, and teaches us doctrine that the Bible leaves out. Don't get me wrong - the Bible is great, too. It has lots of fantastic stories and essential doctrine as well, but in my opinion, the Bible and the Book of Mormon help complete each other, which is not to say that they're "complete." I believe that there's more scripture out there that we haven't found yet, and even more scripture yet to be written.

Personal Revelation - This is one of the blessings that came up in my previous blog post, and the example I gave then still works. It's a wonderful blessing to know that God still speaks to His children - to all the world collectively, and to each of us individually. As we so often need help and guidance, it's a real blessing to know that Heavenly Father answers prayers.

Prophets and Apostles - It seems strange to me that this would be an LDS church exclusive. It probably isn't. But the main difference between our prophets and all others is that our prophets (Please don't be offended by this - it's just what I believe.) are actual messengers/representatives of God. Every six months, they speak to us, giving messages they've prepared under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and their messages are God's messages to the world for our day. God hasn't left us in the dark. He is constantly guiding His church through His servants, the Prophets.

Priesthood Authority - And the Prophets aren't the only special people in this church. God is rather good at delegation, and has lent some of His power to the worthy men of the church for the purpose of blessing and healing the sick and afflicted, and for performing sacred ordinances. Speaking of which...

Saving Ordinances - For those of you who may not know, I should probably explain that an ordinance  is a ceremony through which people make covenants (or promises) with God. Many of these ordinances, such as baptism, are essential to salvation, hence the term "saving" ordinances. In general, the terms of these covenants are that we promise to serve God and keep His commandments, and in return, He gives us His Spirit and promises that we may have Eternal Life with our families. Basically, through the Priesthood, we gain access to saving ordinances, and through those ordinances, we gain access to other blessings.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost - The Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirt, or Spirit of God, or Comforter, etc) is a member of the Godhead, which consists of our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is also the Comforter that Jesus Christ promised to send to His disciples. The Holy Spirit can have a calming and inspiring influence on us. He can give us heaven-sent directions and the courage to follow them. It's through Him that many revelations come, including the assurance that God knows our needs and circumstances, and will stay with us as we pass through our trials. In my opinion, being a faithful member of this church would be worth it, just for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Eternal Families - This is another blessing that comes through Priesthood Ordinances. By being "sealed" or married in the temple, we can have the assurance that as long as we and our partners remain worthy, our relationship with them can last for eternity, and that extends to your children as well, so they'll still be yours in the afterlife. This is a great blessing for those who love their family, and especially for those who have lost children or a spouse. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints, we know that our family relationships can last forever.

The Plan of Salvation - And that's not all we know about the afterlife. We know where we go when we die, and it's not just the "Heaven or Hell" part that everyone knows about. We know that when we die, our spirits go to the spirit world, into a state of happiness or misery, depending on our actions in life. There, the faithful may preach to those who weren't faithful, or who never had the gospel in the first place, so they have another chance to come unto Christ after death but before the judgement. We know that each person will be resurrected - that is, they'll get their bodies back (good as new, if not better) before they're judged, and those who reach this point will go to either of three kingdoms: the Celestial Kingdom, where God lives; the Terrestrial Kingdom, which is for those who received the gospel, but not valiant in it, and those who were valiant Christians who chose not to receive the saving ordinances through proper priesthood authority (Also, this place is good enough and wonderful enough to satisfy most Christians, which is fortunate for the many good, but generic Christians who'll end up here.); and finally, the Telestial Kingdom, which is for the people who weren't righteous and didn't try to be. The Telestial Kingdom is essentially "hell," just judging by the people who go there, but it isn't "hell" in the traditional sense of a place where damned souls are tortured for eternity. No torture occurs in the Telestial Kingdom (except by people's own consciences). In fact, a prophet who saw a vision of it described it as being more glorious than Earth.

And that's not all the Plan of Salvation tells us. It also tells us about where we came from before we were born, why we came to Earth in the first place, and what we're supposed to to here. Which leads me to one of the biggest blessings of the gospel...

The Meaning of Life - I sometimes have to laugh at the irony that some of the "biggest" questions that people think of when they think of big questions - Where did we come from, Why are we here, Where do we go after we die, and What is the meaning of life - are things I've been taught since I was a child. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we know the meaning of life. We know that we're here to gain bodies and experience, and to be tested and prove ourselves, to grow spiritually and become more like our Heavenly Father. The ultimate goal is to become very much like Heavenly Father in almost every way, which many people believe is unthinkable, and I have to admit is rather hard to accept, but at the same time, it makes a lot of sense. If the purpose of Earth life was simply to return to heaven, then why didn't we simply stay in heaven and not come to Earth? The purpose of Earth life is to gain progress and experience that we couldn't get by just floating around with the clouds. And that leads me to the final blessing I'd like to share this morning, since this blog post is already very long.

The Purpose of Trials - Life is hard. It's hard for everyone. Our hardships vary in form and intensity, but we all experience them on a regular basis. In this church, we know that that's not an accident, nor is it a "flaw" in God's plan, but rather a central part of God's plan. It's through these trials that we gain experience and spiritual strength, and opportunities to prove how strong we are. By enduring trials, we prove how faithful we're willing to be, and we become stronger by exercising our power to endure. Our trials are not always punishments from God, but rather blessings from God, given with the purpose of bringing us closer to our Eternal Goal.

In summary, there are many blessings of the gospel, and many of us members of the church have no idea how blessed we are. Yet, these blessings were meant to be shared by all of God's children, and we are asked to share these blessings with others by sharing the gospel with them. It can seem daunting to do missionary work, but when we think about what missionary work really means - offering others the blessings that we already enjoy - it becomes easier for us, as Christians, to do it.