Music and the Spirit

So, I've learned I'm horrible at blogging. I'm too distracted by so many other things, that I forget that I should blog things...oh well.

So last night, I had the opportunity to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Pioneer Day concert. And it was ahhhhhhmazing. I love the Spirit that music brings, and to feel the spirit from 360 of the most musically talented members of the Church was fantastic. The last song that they sung was my absolute favorite - Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. That song always brings chills, but hearing it performed live was just...I can't even describe the spirit that was felt. It was so good to be able to be in the audience to hear that song.

Our seats weren't the best...but hey, the music was still great.

Something I've noticed about being involved with music for the past 17 years is that music has the opportunity to either bring in the Spirit or drive it away. If we want to draw closer to God, we kind of need to listen to music that brings in the Spirit (I'm not trying to be preachy; heck, I listen to blink-182, Fall Out Boy, The Offspring, ect...). I'm not also saying that we need to only listen to church music. But, I think that we do need to listen more to music that helps keep the Spirit with us. Without having the Spirit with us, we aren't drawing closer to God. I'll remember this concert a heck of a lot longer than that one really cool song I discovered a few days ago.

I love music, and I'm so grateful for the power that it has to bring the Spirit. Music is a wonderful gift in our lives, and if we use it to our advantage, it can be a huge blessing.

"And choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;"

So, my first blog post shares the name of this blog. It's based off of my absolute favorite scripture, found in 2 Nephi 2:28-29. It states,

28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;

29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.

To those of you who aren't familiar with this scripture, or the Book of Mormon (feel free to email me, in that case!), for that matter, Lehi is talking to his sons before he dies, and is giving them advice. Basically, Lehi wants his sons to make good choices. But, there's so much more going on here. 

Lehi states that “I would that ye should.” We all SHOULD keep the commandments, we all SHOULD be doing what we can to gain eternal life. Its a great suggestion, really. There is nothing greater in this life than striving to gain eternal life. But ultimately, we decide what we want to do. The choice is ours! We have our free agency, we can decide whether to choose eternal life or to choose eternal death. 

Lehi tells his sons that they should look to Christ as their example. What a fantastic example He is. Christ is literally the only person who has walked the earth that hasn't sinned! Striving to be like him is a great goal. Yes, it is hard. Yes, we will make mistakes. However, when we actually follow Christ and become better people, the reward is so worth it! 

When we make the choice to chose eternal life and follow the path of the Savior, we are free from eternal death. There's just one thing - choosing eternal life is a CONSTANT choice. You have to always be choosing eternal life! Because this choice has such greater blessings, this choice is also the harder one.

 Remember in Harry Potter, when Dumbledore tells Harry that he must choose between what is right and what is easy? That's exactly what's going on here. Following the Savior is what is right. Not following the Savior is what is easy. And when we don't follow the Savior, we follow Satan. You may not be actively following Satan, but you aren't actively following Christ. Remember, this choice is one of those "one or the other" things. We've got to be making sure we're choosing what is right, and not what is easy. 

I'm sorry for such a long post..but I love this scripture! There is so much going on here, I could spend all day talking about it. But what I want to emphasize is that choosing what is right brings such greater blessings than choosing what is easy. Life is hard! Life is so, so hard. I personally know this. But, I also know how much better life is when I'm choosing to follow the Savior, when I'm doing what's right, when I'm reading my scriptures, when I'm trying to be a better person. I know that following the Savior might not make life easier, but it makes life better. And I want that for everyone! I want everyone to feel of his love when you follow Him.

I promise you that when you choose eternal life, and make that constant choice to do so, you will feel the peace, love, and joy that I've felt. I challenge each of you to test this out, to actively choose to follow the Savior, and I know you will be blessed for doing so!

Pilot Post

Hi! My name is Morgan. I love music, my job, cats, and I'm a Mormon.

So, I've really contemplated starting this blog for a while. I wanted an outlet to write insights on religious things, somewhere where people can read what I'm thinking, share insights, ect...anyway. I was kind of hesitant at first, because..well, I'm not really great at sharing what I believe. I'm always too worried that I'll offend someone, or I'll lose friends, or whatever. But, I've realized that in the grand scheme of things, why does that matter? Are people really going to get offended at something I believe in? They might..but in the long run, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that I've tried to share with others what makes me so incredibly happy.

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is so much more to me than being a member of a church. It's my life. It's what makes me happy. I've never felt such overwhelming joy in my life. Being LDS, there are things that I do that help me to feel happier, to feel closer to my Heavenly Father. There are things I don't do, because they put me farther from God, and make me feel the opposite of happy. I can honestly say that when I'm doing what I know is right, I feel at peace, and I feel an inner joy. Its hard to describe, but I know it's real. I know when I don't do things that are right, I can't feel that peace, and I end up feeling mad, angry, lost, confused, and anything but happiness. Why would something that makes me feel so amazing NOT be true?

I may not understand all of the things about the Gospel, but I do know that God loves me, loves you, and wants us to be happy. He wants us to experience the joy of the Gospel so that we can live in Heaven with him again! I love this Gospel, and I love learning more about it. And I want to share what I know with others.

Anyway, I'll just be blogging every now and again with things that I want to share. Feel free to comment, share, ect.

ok bye!