Do You Feel so Now? Part II

Alma continues in verse 26, “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?”

This last question always stings a bit. “Can ye feel so now?” Do I still feel that change of heart that I had? Do I still feel the power of the atonement in my life? Do I remember on a day to day basis what Jesus Christ has done for me? Sadly, I haven’t. I don’t. I try and I do my best. I want to feel that MIGHTY change of heart all the time. So now the question is, “how do I do that?”

Well first and foremost, pray to our Father in Heaven! Pray to feel this mighty change and partake of the sacrament. Our covenant is to “always remember Him.” I would also suggest to read the scriptures. Study Christ’s life and read the Book of Mormon. Attend church and keep the Sabbath day holy. These small and simple things will help you in the long run. They will help you remember your Savior.

Another thing that is keeping us from remembering our Savior is our own pride. The Nephites/members of the church were super wicked and not doing what God commanded them to do. This is all centered on pride. In later verses Alma asks, “Behold, are ye stripped of pride?...who is not stripped of envy?”  We are prideful. We constantly want to do what we want to do. We don’t want to listen to the commandments God has given us. So how can we be stripped of pride?

President Ezra Taft Benson said: “The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness (see Alma 7:23). … Let us choose to be humble. We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are. … We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement. … We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us. … We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless service. … We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others. … We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the temple more frequently. … We can choose to humble ourselves by confessing and forsaking our sins and being born of God. … We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1989, 6; or Ensign, May 1989, 6–7). This talk is AMAZING. It's titled "Beware of Pride." You can read it here.

Once again, this is a process. We can’t just be humble overnight, but if we do what Pres. Benson states here, our pride will slowly start to melt away. We will CHOOSE to be humble. We will ACT and move forward on the path to eternal life.

I know that we all can do this. We can have this mighty change of heart. We can ALWAYS remember our Lord and Savior. I know that we can. He is the only way. Just like Alma states later, “there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness. (Alma 38:9)” I know this be true! We all can humble ourselves and depend on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Do You Feel so Now? Part I

Isn’t the Book of Mormon amazing? I love reading it every morning. I know that it is the word of God. I know that because I have asked God if it is true, and I received an answer that it is. Yesterday in my morning studies, I studied Alma 5. I love this chapter so much, because every time I read it, I ask myself, “Have I (Sister Houtz) received HIS image in my countenance?” Some people might think that it’s a harsh rebuking from Alma to the members of the church. I think that it is a personal assessment for everyone to see if they are truly representing the Lord in their everyday activities. I actually taught a lesson about this chapter in church one time and I had kept some of my notes for it. I have put some of the quotes I used for that lesson in the post. I hope that as you read the words of Alma that you will pray for the Holy Ghost to enlighten your mind on how you can improve in your life and also that as you read this post you will receive whatever you come seeking to receive.

There are many some things stood out to me in this chapter this time around as I read it. In verse 6, it reads, “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?”

I asked myself. Have I “sufficiently retained” all the blessing that my Father in Heaven has poured upon me? Do I remember when I was going through a very difficult trial and he “delivered me out of captivity?” Do I “sufficiently retain” that God sent his Son Jesus Christ to atone for my sins? Do I remember that when I’m out teaching the gospel to others? Do I remember that I am HIS daughter called by Him to preach His gospel to the people of this mission? Sadly, I pondered these questions. My answers were “no.” I don’t think I’ve “sufficiently retained” these things. Right from the beginning Alma, rebukes in such a thought provoking manner.

The overall arching theme though from this chapter is found in verse 14, “And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?”

My answer to these questions are yes...maybe…sure? Then I started to ponder, do I want this? Do I want a mighty change of heart? You BET I DO! President Ezra Taft Benson stated, “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. … The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1985, 5; or Ensign, Nov. 1985, 6).

Jesus Christ can change our human nature. We can experience this mighty change in our hearts! We can! I know it! I’ve witnessed it in myself and many others. I’m constantly changing for the better. I think “Yes, I’ve got it down. I’m good.” Then God gives me another opportunity to be pushed, tried, and so I can grow. I’m not the person I was eight months ago, I’m not the person I was last week, because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am constantly changing because I want to progress. I want this mighty change. I would love it if His image was in my countenance! I represent Jesus Christ as a missionary. I want to make sure that I am representing well. So what happens after the mission? What happens when I am no longer a full-time missionary? Will I still be able to represent Him? Yes! Will I do everything possible to make sure of it? Yes!

From my lesson at church I read this powerful quote from Elder Bruce R. McConkie. He taught: “Except in … unusual circumstances, as with Alma (Mosiah 27), spiritual rebirth is a process. It does not occur instantaneously. It comes to pass by degrees. Repentant persons become alive to one spiritual reality after another, until they are wholly alive in Christ and are qualified to dwell in his presence forever” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1966–73], 3:401).

It is a process! I am constantly changing and growing and progressing. I love how he says, “it comes by degrees!” There are SOOO many of us who think that we have to be perfect, now here and today. We beat ourselves up for not being perfect. Take a day at a time. Turn to Jesus Christ He will help you. He wants to help you on this spiritual rebirth. It takes time. Don’t give up. Keep going. The Lord is in our midst He will never leave us. I know this to be true. I testify of this. For I know that He wants us to change. He wants us to become like Him. He will do everything and anything to help us, but we MUST try. We must exercise our faith and our agency. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Become an Indexer!

Click on the LINK to watch a video about indexing!!
indexing video
I am a firm believer in Family History work! Before I came out on my mission I was called to be an "Indexer." At the time I was attending Brigham Young University-Idaho and my ward had filled up all the callings possible. Sometimes they would create "other callings" so that everyone had a part. I was called to be the Ward Indexer. I thought for sure that I had been given one of those "filler" callings, but then I started learning all about what people do who index. It was SO fun! I downloaded the program onto my computer and indexed away! I loved looking at the old census records and other forms that they use. It was interesting to read about where they were born, what their names were, age, and occupation. I love history and truly enjoyed finding out just the basic information about these people. It makes for such a wonderful Sunday activity and doesn't take that long at all. I have now indexed over 1,500 names. I love it! I know that indexing is just another important step into furthering the Lord's work on the earth today. If you would like to learn more about indexing or family history in general, please visit this website. https://familysearch.org/