Give Him Some Lovin'

I love Neal A. Maxwell. Everything he did and said inspires me. I mean, how cool do you have to be to get a book selling on Amazon called "The Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book"? His childhood was flooded with feelings of a lack of self-worth and self-esteem. He was horrible at English as a child, but near the end of his life he practically made up new words for the dictionary because he was so faithful and diligent in conquering his weaknesses.

I am reading a book for the second time called "Not My Will, But Thine" by Neal A. Maxwell. I am just so impressed with his knowledge of US as human beings and God's role with us.

I'm gonna give you one of my favorite parts. It's pretty good. If you don't like it, well you're crazy. It might seem that I took a paragraph here, a paragraph there, but this is the order it comes in. It is like two pages of the whole book. I highly recommend it to anyone. I especially like the end of this. Anyway, this would be under my favorite quotes but its way too long. I promise edification:

Mortality, this precious micro-dot on the canvas of eternity, is such a
brief moment. While in it, we are to prepare ourselves for the time when there
will be no time.

The strategic answers available to help us in this mortal moment are
awesome. Where else but in the gospel of Jesus Christ in its restored fulness
can one find the needed explanations for a God, perfect in His power and
goodness, who nevertheless permits evil and suffering? Clearly, He desires to
“set (us) us as a free people,” if we will. But will we then stay that
way?

So often in life, it seems, a blessing is quickly succeeded by a
stretching. Spiritual exhilaration is often short lived, being soon followed by
vexation, temptation, and even tribulation. Perhaps this is so because we cannot
handle exhilaration for any length of time. Or is it because we need to get on
with the next challenge, there being so little time for languishing? Or is it
that experiencing the sharp, side-by-side contrast of the sweet and the bitter,
almost continuously, is essential until the very end of this mortal experience?
Or are we at risk if in extended spiritual reveries we quickly forget the needs
of others?

Whatever the reasons, the Lord hastens us forward – submissively on to the
next work to be done. Handcarts are to be picked up again promptly, after
pausing whether for gladness or for sadness. We are to “seek” first to build up
the kingdom of God, and to establish His righteousness. But we cannot build up
the kingdom if we are tearing ourselves down. Thus we must deny ourselves
certain things as part of taking up the cross daily. Significantly, Jesus
stresses this in His Nephite Sermon on the Mount. Temple covenants provide us
with specific standards, and temple attendance with much-needed reminders of
commitments made.

Submitting, but only episodically, is a telltale sign. Such reluctance is
evidence of weak faith. So is putting off obedience. Sufficient submissiveness
to kneel now means we will not be strangers to that posture later when “every
knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ”. It will take
no faith to renounce worldly things when these are among the ashes of a melted
planet.

Meanwhile, spiritual submissiveness brings about the wiser use of our
times, talents, and gifts as compared with our laboring diligently but
conditionally to establish our own righteousness instead of the Lord’s. After
all, Lucifer was willing to work very hard, but conditionally in his own way and
for his own purposes.

Those who insist on walking their own way will find that all such paths,
however individualistic in appearance, will converge at the wide way and broad
gate – where there will be a tremendous traffic jam.

Giving place in our souls and in our schedules, making room for God’s words
and work, requires intellectual submissiveness. It requires us to be responsive
to all entreaties from the Lord, rather than being dependent upon thunderbolts
to move us, or upon being commanded in all things. Submission requires
sufficient dedication and perspiration to “try the experiment” of His gospel’s
goodness, to begin to follow Him in earnest.

When Jesus said, “Come, follow me,” it was an invitation, not a taunt.
Moreover, His firm footprints are especially recognizable. They reflect no
hesitancy, and no turning aside; they lie in a straight path. The prints are
also sunk inerasably deep into the soil of the second estate because of the
heavy burdens He bore. A portion of that depth is attributable to us,
individually, because we added to the heaviness of His pressing yoke.

So how can we have the necessary faith to be submissive if we are filled
with sharp doubts and nagging questions? Before we can submit to God and His
plan, we must be persuaded to do so voluntarily.

Whew! That took a lot longer to type than to read. Anyway, this is pretty much awesome. It says a lot to me. I get frustrated with a lot of ppl in this world. Especially cuz they don't even know they're fetchers. He shows the fetcher in all of us.