5 Things I Stand By

1. I stand by God. I will never deny Him or His Gospel. I know what the truth is, and I will never let Him down.


2. I stand by my friends. Through life, you will find those that will always stand by you, and I will stand by them. This includes certain friends from high school, college, brothers and sisters, etc...


3. I stand by what's good and right. Integrity, patience, honor, courage, and all the other good traits that are found in earthly heroes, and especially in our Savior Jesus Christ.


4. I stand by growth. Another way of saying this is change for the better. Change is constant, but not always good. We must be consistently striving to change for the better. With that, I also believe that anybody can change and that everyone deserves another chance.


5. I stand by myself. That might sound selfish, but I know who I am, and I also know that nobody has the right to trample me down, no matter who they are. We are all different, and that's okay. We all make mistakes (big and small), and that's okay. We get back up, we brush ourselves off, and we try again. We're not always going to be perfect, great or even totally good sometimes; and that's okay. We stand by each other, we stand by ourselves, and we stand for Jesus Christ and His ability to make us better.




Tara J. Howard


Copyright October 2014

What You Can Do

It's easier to run and hide, than stand back up and fight. 
It's easier to just let go when nothing's going right.
But Jesus never did give up, and neither so shall we.
He bore the pain of weight and sins all through Gethsemane.




He's not the one who puts self-doubt into our finite minds.
He's not the one who tears us down as our short life unwinds.
The adversary wants us hurt, he wants us to just quit.
For we have everything he wants, he will have none of it.





But Christ will always try to show us what our eyes can't see.
That within our hearts, and minds, and souls is pure eternity.
There's infinite potential there, there's nothing we can't do.
And God will always tell us that, and show us how it's true.





We are His sons and daughters, all of the most high birth.
Invisible crowns grace all our heads, and proclaim our infinite worth.
So don't run and hide or ever give up; the Lord will sustain through.
He'll give you strength and power for His Glory is in You.

Tara J. Howard


Copyright October 2014

What Goes With Us When We Die?

Death is literally the separation of your spirit from your body. Your body is dead, but your spirit is still very much alive. There's not much you can take with you into the next life though, as just a spirit. Worldly things such as money, fame, cars, or houses won't have any meaning in the next world. Almost everything you see around you will be gone when you die.

A lot of people say, "Well, you can't take anything with you when you die." That's not true. There are a lot of things you can take with you when you die, and they will just naturally come with you too. Here are some of them:


1.)   Your Faith.
Alma 7:6: "... ye look forward to the remission of your sins, with an everlasting faith...."

The strength of our faith in the Savior will go with us into the next life. We are not going to suddenly die and see Him and have all the faith in the world. Faith is knowing that something is true, even though you can't see it. Faith is stronger than sight, by far.

2.)   Your Love. 

Good relationships are one of the very most important things we can develop in this life. This includes a relationship with God, our family, and others. God and His children will always be the very most important thing you can spend your time with. (see Matthew 22:36-39)





3.)   Your Education.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:18 says: "Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection."

That's a comforting feeling. Whatever knowledge, skills, and abilities I gain in this life, I will still have them when I am resurrected. The Lord has commanded us to gain an education, to learn the good things there are to learn, and to seek learning by study and also by faith. (D&C 109:14)


4.) Your Personality.
When we die, we are not just going to suddenly become some different person. Our personality, bad habits, good habits, struggles, and strengths will all go with us when we die too! (see Alma 41:10-13) So that is why it is so important in this life that we are working on those. We want to improve those now!

Some people might say, "Well, I want to live my life the way I want, I'll work on being better in the next life." No! If you have a careless disposition towards progressing and become better in this life, you will have that in the next life too. Start working on it now.


Conclusion:
Who do you want to be? What do you want to take with you when you die? Out of everything you have now, is anything going to go with you? Are you spending your time on the things in your life that truly matter most?

That is my challenge to you.
That is where true happiness lies.