The Importance of Our Spirits
What we eat, how much we exercise, and how much sleep we get effect us greatly. You often read articles about how to trim your belly, lose inches off your waist, and what make-up is best for your face. There are countless websites dedicated to helping people live well-balanced lives. Telling us how we need to get a good amount of sleep, de-clutter our homes, eat more raw foods, and so forth. All of these things are physical, temporal. While these are great things to think about, there are even more important things to consider. What are most important, are the things with eternal value.
“We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 1 (2 Cor. 4:18)
Sometimes in life what we really need to do is focus on what is within us. This doesn’t mean you have to light incense and sit cross-legged on the floor, which works, but is unnecessary. We can help shape, grow, and feed our spirits any time of the day. When do we start? Where do we start? The answer is an obvious, right now and within our hearts. As we come to realize how vital our spirits are to our eternal progression, we see the importance of looking at things with an eternal perspective.
A quick example from my own life: This past winter, I found myself in quite the predicament. I felt I was given an ultimatum between two very important things, and either way I decided to go, someone would be hurt. My soul literally ached from all the questions I was asking myself. I was easily upset, overwhelmed and feeling depressed. I knew that the only thing that could ease my worry and doubt was to turn myself over to the Lord, and give him my undivided attention. I started a regimen of “spiritual exercise” that helped me view things with a more eternal perspective. Proving to myself once again how important it is to be spiritually fit, and alert at all times in my life.
In November of 1985 Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote an article about Spirituality in the Ensign. He asks the questions, “How do we achieve spirituality? How do we come to view and evaluate the things of this world with the perspective of eternity?”2 His answer, “ We seek spirituality through faith, repentance, and baptism; through forgiveness of one another; through fasting and prayer; through righteous desires and pure thoughts and actions. We seek spirituality through service to our fellowmen; through worship; through feasting on the word of God, in the scriptures and the teachings of the living prophets. We attain spirituality through making and keeping covenants, through conscientiously trying to keep all the commandments of God. Spirituality is not acquired suddenly. It is the consequence of a succession of right choices. It is the harvest of a righteous life.”3
It might seem like a massive undertaking to become more spiritual, and in turn to improve on our spirituality. However large or small our journey to becoming more like Christ may be, it is a journey we must take to achieve eternal life and experience joy beyond measure. W. E. Channing reminds us that, “Everything here, but the soul of man, is a passing shadow. The only enduring substance is within.”4 Because we must endure to the end, and because our God is a merciful God, he has given us things to help us endure, and help us return to him.
This is the first post of a series of posts entitled, Spiritually Getting By & The Worth of Souls. Below are links to the articles I used in my research. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If you would like to know more about being LDS and our values and beliefs you can go to www.lds.org, or to www.mormon.org . If you have any questions or concerns about my essays you may contact me at shelbyloudelong @ gmail dot com.
1. Corinthians Chapter 4 Verse 18 – New Testament, Holy Bible, King James Version
Comments
Post a Comment