Ready To Recieve and Worth

Quotes from Sister Joy D. Jones: Read Her Talk Here

How do you define your worth?                
Where do you choose to focus your mind?


Ready to Recieve includes your self worth. It is hard for God, our Father, to talk to us and show us he loves us if our belief is, "I'm not worth it." It is critical to do this work, to know and understand what you believe about yourself.

“The worth of a soul is its capacity to become as God.”1

"Let me point out the need to differentiate between two critical words: worth and worthiness." They are not the same. Spiritual worth means to value ourselves the way Heavenly Father values us, not as the world values us. Our worth was determined before we ever came to this earth." D. Todd Christopherson.

"On the other hand, worthiness is achieved through obedience. If we sin, we are less worthy, but we are never worth less!"

If we get educated and earn a million dollars we aren't worth more. Our value stays the same. We are already counted of worth in the sight of God our Father. The value we get from getting educated is in the increasing of our talents for which we can give value to other people and bless their lives.

This reminds me of the definitions of shame vs. guilt that I read in Brene' Brown's book, The Gifts of Imperfections. It looks like this:

• Shame = I am bad. (our worth)
• Guilt = I did something bad. (our worthiness)

So where do the negative thoughts about ourselves come from? Do we make them up? They seem to be around us at times and hard to shake off. In the scriptures it teaches "that which of God is light." A negative thought is NOT light. We are also taught that Satan is the father of all lies.* 

What does it mean to father something? This means he plants the seed of doubt in our minds. Shame thinking is one of those seeds and is NOT light. It is the, . . . I'm not good enough, I will never measure up, I'm undeserving. This kind of thinking does not serve us. Not only that, they are not "virtuous thoughts."***  Which, by the way, can be with us "unceasingly."

What can we do to change this kind of thinking? I believe we let way too much of these kinds of thoughts in, and allow them to marinate over and over again. The Prophet David O. McKay has stated, "The devil only has power over us, as we allow him to." As we marinate on these discouraging thoughts, we unconsciously give up our power.

How do we keep that power? How do we stay in a place of hope and worth? King Benjamin a prophet of the Book of Mormon suggests a way, he told us to be a watcher of our thoughts.* If we watch what we are thinking, I mean really be more awake and aware, we can SEE and notice what thoughts and feelings are lowering our self worth. We can't change the thoughts we aren't aware of.

If you need help learning how to watch your thoughts, I have a practice that makes all the difference. Which can lend to being more aware, more conscience of what it is we are actually thinking. Then being able to evaluate that, and decide what it is you really want. If you are interested in learning this, leave your email in the comments below and I will contact you.

President Spencer W. Kimball has said: “God is your Father. He loves you. He and your mother in heaven value you beyond any measure. … You are unique. One of a kind, made of the eternal intelligence which gives you claim upon eternal life.

“Let there be no question in your mind about your value as an individual. The whole intent of the gospel plan is to provide an opportunity for each of you to reach your fullest potential, which is eternal progression and the possibility of godhood.”2

In her talk Sister Jones quoted a scripture in D&C 50:34.

 “He that receiveth of God, let him account it of God; and let him rejoice that he is accounted of God worthy to receive.”8

When I reread this talk this verse seemed to make an impression on my mind. Then Later that day I was doing something, felt the love of the Lord and thought the thoughts, "I am ready to recieve."  When we are WORTHY TO RECIEVE, we are READY TO RECIEVE.

Alma the sr. was ready to receive when he did the work of righteousness and praying in behalf of his son. Then, an angel appeared to him and conducted the work, Alma had been asking for. Not that righteous, worthy people always get exactly what they want and pray for, we don't. But for sure, if we are worthy, we will be ready.

My great grandfather was ready to receive when on his mission  when he received a Loaf of bread, wrapped in a hand embroidered towel, from his wife. He was in Switzerland, she in Logan, Utah.

I hope I am ready to receive, from the actions I do every day and occasionally, for my sons and daughters family who have lost their testimonies. I plan to practice righteousness and use all those primary answers.

"No matter what, we always have worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. Despite this marvelous truth, how many of us struggle, from time to time, with negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves? I do. It’s an easy trap."

I think if Sister Jones struggles with this trap, we can all know that no matter how close to the Lord we are, we will all struggle with it from time to time. Some more than others. But it doesn't matter how much, we all can come to know and understand our worth. Which is the truth about us.

It is apart of our lives to over come this struggle.    

It is naturally part of our lives. 

We knew it before we came here. 

But we chose it.

I know we can conquer this trap. I know we can realize when it is in our lives and know what to do to steer our lives away from it. We all experience it and we can all work together to understand it, fight it, and win!

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"

Eleanor Roosevelt.

 “Comparison is the thief of joy.” 

Theodore Roosevelt

"If the love we feel for the Savior and what He did for us is greater than the energy we give to weaknesses, self-doubts, or bad habits, then He will help us overcome the things which cause suffering in our lives. He saves us from ourselves." Where are we putting our energy right now? Can that change?

Reiterating what she just offered in that last quote, she added new light to it:
"If the pull of the world is stronger than the faith and trust we have in the Savior, then the pull of the world will prevail every time. If we choose to focus on our negative thoughts and doubt our worth instead of clinging to the Savior, it becomes more difficult to feel the impressions of the Holy Ghost."

Joy in the Journal:
"Let’s not be confused about who we are! While it is often easier to be spiritually passive than it is to put forth the spiritual effort to remember and embrace our 
divine identity, we cannot afford that indulgence in these latter days."

1. Journal about what is spiritually passive in your life.
2. Then declare the spiritual effort you will put forth. Not just out loud, write it down. 

Heavenly Father and Christ love you beyond measure. What will you declare to be able to feel it? When your thought matches your belief, it is easier to act in righteousness.  You will THINK IT, FEEL IT, AND ACT ON IT.

3. Write the declaration on a piece of paper and read it often through out the day, every day, until it becomes a part of your thinking and your life.

***All blog posts in this section are from LDS Conference Talks. All Quotes are from one indiviual talk with references to whom the speaker was also quoting. This is how I started recording my thoughts while reading Conference talks. Now I want to share them with you.***
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/value-beyond-measure?lang=eng