Tag Archive for: mercy

More than Miles

These last few months I’ve done a lot of walking.
I walk everywhere.
This week, I also discovered that May is National Walking Month 🥾🥾
For many, it’s a chance to stretch their legs and get outside.
But for me, my daily walks are helping me train for my adventure starting 28th May, along the West Highland Way with 15 dear friends in support of Mary’s Meals.
Years of scripture study have taught me lots about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Many things stand out in His teachings, but I’d like to focus on just one thing today.
He walked everywhere.
As I walk, I’ve been thinking about how much of the Gospel is rooted in the act of walking.
He was often seen walking by the Sea of Galilee, on the road to Emmaus, through crowds of people, with sinners, publicans, to Nazareth, Capernaum and Jerusalem, but mostly He walked with His disciples, and He even walked on water.
The disciples walked everywhere too.
Often not knowing exactly where they were going, but they trusted deeply and followed Him.
That’s what faith often feels like.
Some days I’ll put my boots on, uncertain what path I’ll take, but I hope and believe it always leads somewhere worth going.
We don’t need to walk by the shores of Galilee or among the Judean hills to walk where Jesus walked.
As Thomas S. Monson said, “Walking where Jesus walked 𝒊𝒔 less important than walking 𝒂𝒔 Jesus walked”.
It’s not about the path under your feet, rather it’s all about what’s in your heart, by choosing to follow Him in your own journey through life.
The scriptures teach us not just about what to do, but how to walk; “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
That’s the kind of walk I want to train for.
Not just the miles ahead, but a life filled with service that moves toward justice, mercy, and humility.
I so look forward to walking together with my friends in a few weeks’ time.
Walking is simple.
But walking with purpose, that’s really where the Gospel meets the ground.
Where is your walk leading you, and who are you walking it for?

Somethingism

Do you believe in 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠?
Our beliefs define who we are and what we do.
Belief – “the feeling of being certain that something exists or is true”
Somethingism – “an unspecified belief in some higher force”
I’ve met so many people here who believe in something, but they’re not sure what that something is.
When you believe in something – when you believe it to your very core – your genuine actions speak for you.
Action starts with one critical element: 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇!
Your actions will speak louder than words when you stand strong in your beliefs.
When you live by what you believe in, you not only make a difference to yourself, but also your family, your friends and your community.

Belief is the result of experience.

Beliefs can bring us together or even tear us apart.
Belief is a way of understanding and discovering ourselves and the world around us, both things seen and also unseen.
We all believe in things we can’t see, because frankly it’s not possible to see everything. For example…
– Do you believe in love?
– Do you believe in mercy?
– Do you believe in kindness?
– Do you believe in hope?
– Do you believe in justice?
All of these things we can’t see, but we know exist.
When it comes to spiritual things, I believe the answers are much the same.
Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Believing is part of life.
When it comes to matters of faith, I have confidence in my experience of reality.
I experience the fruits of my faith, every day.
The deepest things in life are not seen but felt.  They bring joy.
When those deepest things get into our hearts, our very natures are changed.
And so it is with our beliefs.

I believe in something.

That something is a someone.
He is Jesus Christ.
In your pursuit of something, I know that the most important something you can learn, comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.
I invite you to come to know Him and love Him as I do.
As He said to the ruler of the synagogue in Mark 5:36 “…Be not afraid, only believe.”
Consider this invitation from The Book of Mormon.
…in Alma 32:27 “But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words”
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧?