What is life? It is really to be lonely and stressed? What about relationships to people around us, are they important or just fleeting moments throughout the passing hours of our day? Are values important? Which values, only the ones we choose to live by at the moment or something more concrete and "true"?
Forgive my ramblings, but this has been weighing on my mind all week.
When I first joined the US Navy I was indoctrinated on the Navy core values: Honor, Courage, and Commitment. These words were not unfamiliar to me, as the scriptures (Holy Bible and Book of Mormon) I read my entire life taught me the same principles. Years later upon accepting a commission into the US Army, I was introduced to many more values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. These added values buoyed my faith that the military had the solid foundation for good and right in the world.
Unfortunately, the world likes making values for organizations but never inwardly adopts them. Thus the world continues to spiral down the moral slopes of regression, until it eventually ceases to adopt the facade of these values. This is a plea to all who read this post to rise up and live these values as if your life depends on it, for it does.
This week's news is full of warnings and fearful predictions. If those who would live these values faced injustice and immorality with such courage, there would be no fear, only faith. One might ask: Why face this? Who am I to do so, it wouldn't make a difference.
This takes me to my last and final point of the post. Our life isn't without purpose. We are not alone in our struggles and trials. Our sorrows are known and felt by others. Help is always, always available. We are all on this earth for a grand purpose: To learn to recognize truth, and live according to it. Simple and true. What if all men (synonymous with male and female) were to recognize this truth, there would cease to be wars and contentions, cease to be misery and despair.
Nevertheless, this world has an age and must end according to God's will. We have a whisper of a warning given through inspired scripture that bears remembering.
(Matthew 24:6-10)
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
After such gloom, surely there is a light: The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace (Exodus 14:14). These words were spoken to Moses, and we can read about his deliverance, so too shall our deliverance be. This is truth. Feel it, believe it.
Charles W. Penrose said: “We are to arise in our might and in our strength and go forth to victory; not with a desire to shed blood, not with the desire to destroy our fellow creatures, but in self defense and because we do want to maintain and hand down to our posterity those sacred principles of liberty that have been revealed from on high” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1917, 21).
I bear my witness that God the Father loves us, we are his spirit children, sent to Earth in physical, mortal, imperfect bodies to be tested and proven (accepting truth and living according to it). I know that Christ is our Savior, even in these days of wars and rumors of wars, we too shall see that HE is the only one that can heal, lift, and carry our sins and burdens. This Soldier depends on him daily for support and strength, to live without fear and to have courage to live the Army and Navy values taken from Holy writ. Join me in raising our values high and encouraging others to do the same.
Michael
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