Reflecting on my purpose

     Isaiah spoke of Jesus Christ who was sent to proclaim liberty to the captives...; to comfort all that mourn. It is an unbelievable gift that He suffered as He did for no other reason that to help all of us. His Father- our Father- planned for His only Begotten, only perfect Son to be scorned, abused, and slaughtered to pay the price of justice for all of us as we waste time and energy doing unnecessary and sometimes downright evil things that hurt ourselves and others. Yet, rather than be sorry we often try to justify ourselves in what we are doing. Alma (Book of Mormon chapt 42:30) warned his son Corianton about this: O my son, I desire that ye should deny the justice of God no more. Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of your sins, by denying the justice of God; but do you let the justice of God, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart; and let it bring you down to the dust in humility. It saddens me when I hear people try to avoid responsibility for their actions by claiming that they don't think it's fair for God to expect a higher level of behavior, like it's God's fault for expecting too much. His only desire is, like any good parent, for us all to be happy and achieve a level of accomplishment that makes us feel good about ourselves.  But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage. Sometimes people become humble and truly repent and feel gratitude for having been "released from bondage"- the bondage of their own weaknesses. Wonderful! Then, like a dog returning to its vomit (Proverbs 26:11), we start being tempted and give in then try to justify ourselves. It's too hard. Somebody else made me do it. I've been doing good up til now. I'm not doing anything others aren't doing........
     I'm not claiming perfection. I'm not being self-righteous. I know I keep messing up. I also keep repenting. If we don't want to "shame Christ" and what He did, we need to humble ourselves and turn to Him with full purpose of heart, not half-heartedly, not part-time only on certain occasions, not with exclusions but FULL purpose and real intent. We can do this. He knows we can. That's why He did what He did. But it's our own choice.

Ritual or covenant?

     By definition, a ritual is a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order. A covenant is an agreement generally implying a promise on the part of all parties involved. Many people have considered baptism a ritual, occasioned by a sprinkling of water on the head. Even those who follow the example of Jesus Christ who was submerged by John the Baptist in the River Jordan often perform what they perceive as a ritual in order to be cleansed from past sins. This is a simple, one-time performance with very little consideration beyond it. However, a careful study of the four gospels in the New Testament discloses the prerequisite of repentance which involves a purposeful decision on the part of the one desiring baptism to make a change in their life. This change, being "reborn", is not a one-time instantaneous occurrence. It is the beginning of being someone unlike what you had been up to the moment of making the covenant with God. Rather than baptism being a ritual, like a pass to enter the kingdom of God, it is a covenant where we declare our desire and intention to be a different person. The Book of Mormon further clarifies our part of the covenant: as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life-  I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? (Mosiah 18: 8-10) For God's part of the covenant, He promises to remember our sins no more, take us into His kingdom and consider us His. This is no small thing and should not be done lightly. God takes it seriously, and so should we.

     If you are just now checking out the posts about Ireland, be sure to click on "Older Posts" at the bottom of this page because there are several more posts about Ireland. Thanks for taking the time and making the effort to look at what I have spent time and effort, in my feeble awareness of technology, to create. I'm not sure how commenting works but I would love to hear from anyone who has ideas or opinions about some of my thoughts.

     I hope I have done justice to our wonderful trip to Ireland. It was our first time there and the first time for Russ and I to stay in AIRBNB's. We couldn't have been more pleased! All the places we stayed were clean, private, picturesque and very nicely priced. We met delightful people and feasted our eyes on the scenery and our stomachs on delicious food. I am a little disappointed that I was unable to find out more about my ancestor but now I understand better why it's just not likely to ever happen. Just as anywhere else in the world, records were kept mostly by the elite and by churches back before 1800. My family were mostly farmers and I have found what records I'm going to find. Some day I will meet them, on the other side of the "veil" and will be delighted to hear their story. I'm just glad that most of the family made it to America so that I could have the blessing of being born and live out my life in this beautiful land.

A few pictures of places we stayed

Three pictures inside one of the little houses where we stayed

The outside of a second lovely home where we stayed. That's us by our rental car on the right. We entered the downstairs around the back. we had 3 spacious bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, a large living room and kitchen.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

More pictures of the Emerald Isle

Believe it or not, those dots in the distance are surfers

There may not be a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, but there is a lovely island to see.

Pictures of a beautiful island

View from the Rock of Cashel