streamline: HOLY GHOST

last night i went to a fireside at the stake center where brother and sister bowen spoke. they are public affair representatives with in the seattle area working with interfaith councils. i was seriously moved by sister bowen. correction: she blew my mind.

their messages were focused on how we can make friendships, build links between all of God's children. as i read the talk yesterday about pride and the one today about service, they both feed in SO beautifully.

for me the Gospel includes so many parts, skills, gifts, things to focus on that at times it is a bit overwhelming. like i sometimes feel like the second i get one thing down and try to focus a little attention on something else i lose grip of what i have already mastered. i think we can streamline our focus.

GOAL OF LIFE:---------------------------------------------------------------

EXALTED, ETERNAL LIFE WITH GOD

“to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”

"Our goal is to learn to love God and to extend that same love toward our fellowman. We are here to live according to His law and establish the kingdom of God. We are here to build, uplift, treat fairly, and encourage all of Heavenly Father’s children."

"We are here to roll up our sleeves and go to work. We are enlisted in no ordinary task. We are called to prepare the world for the coming of our Lord and Savior."

CONNECTION TO GOD NOW:----------------------------------------------------------

HAVING THE HOLY GHOST CONSTANTLY

"let us do whatever is required to qualify for the Holy Ghost as our companion, and then let us go forward fearlessly so that we will be given the powers to do whatever the Lord calls us to do. "

"

God will have a humble people."

SO HOW DO WE DO THIS:------------------------------------------------------------

CHANNEL ALL OUR ACTIONS TO THIS ONE IDEA----HAVING THE SPIRIT

-prioritize

"the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the manifestations of it in our life and service, requires us to put our lives in order to qualify."

"we don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves."

-fight pride

"At its core, pride is a sin of comparison...the desire to be admired or envied....This is the sin of “Thank God I am more special than you.”

"instead of worshipping God and loving our neighbor, we reveal the real object of our worship and love—the image we see in the mirror."

-pray

“And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them.”

"As the humble servants of the Savior, we should pray for the manifestations of the Holy Ghost to come to us in our service and to those we serve. Humble prayer to our Heavenly Father, in deep faith in Jesus Christ, is essential to qualify us for the companionship of the Holy Ghost."

-study and seek

"...reading, studying, and pondering are not the same. We read words and we may get ideas. We study and we may discover patterns and connections in scripture. But when we ponder, we invite revelation by the Spirit. Pondering, to me, is the thinking and the praying I do after reading and studying in the scriptures carefully."

-love

"All of God’s children wear the same jersey."

"How does one magnify a calling? Simply by performing the service that pertains to it."

"We don’t have to use soaring language or convey deep insights. Simple words of testimony will do."

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We have so many things to think and focus on, but hopefully we can turn our attention to this one idea:

how does this help or hurt me from having the holy ghost?

then act accordingly from there.