A Vision

I have been thinking lately, what sets regular men (or women) apart from great men. As I thought about it, the answer seemed so easy! Vision. Those who do great things are able to accomplish those dreams because they first had a vision for something better, something greater. When you look through the Book Of Mormon all of the Prophets had a vision for the future despite what was happening during their lifetimes. They wrote to warn, encourage and exhort us to build God's kingdom. The early pioneers took the journey because they too had a greater vision. Just read through the lyrics of "Come Come Ye Saints" They were able to see their struggle as it was, but look ahead and know that better things were in store, particularly for their posterity. Yet somehow in our culture we tend to read history, read scriptures, sing hymns and not get that same vision. They were able to accomplish and secure a legacy that lasts till today, because they kept the fire of faith and vision burning. In our culture today though, sometimes it seems like we know what people did, we read about it in history, church history, and scriptures. Yet we dont move forward as much as we could. We are children of noble birth, children of promise. The potential that exists in all of us is so great, yet we sell ourselves short, we settle for less in so many things. We are so easily swayed with culture, with the changing tides of moral values. I once read somewhere where members were waiting for the church to change its stance on issues such as same-sex marraiges, merely because the world's values has changed. Yet they dont see the danger of such things occuring, if our church changed because of the tides of time, our church would not be God's church, God doesnt change, his moral standings and commandments have not changed since we were first taught them in the premortal world. If they did, God would change and as scriptures say, if God changes, God ceases to be God. So many times we lose vision of God and His Church, and we focus on the world and we want what they have, sometimes selling ourselves short for the acceptance of the world. I was reading Psalm 73 the other day and if you get a chance read it, because its wonderful how the Psalmist dealt with the same problems, he almost gave up, almost thought all he stood for and stood on was in vain because he saw the wicked and how easy things and life seemed for them, yet he was put back in his place when God showed him what lies ahead for those who do not harken to his commandments. As Alma said to his son, wickedness never was happiness. The world promises possibly only a temporal happiness that when faced with adversity or pushed against the wall, never sustains or delivers on its promises. Yet we have a greater hope to look forward to, a divine inheritance, that protects us not only temporally while in our mortal state, but even beyond. Yet we have to keep that vision alive, we have to keep the flame of faith burning. We need to be a visionary people, keeping the covenants we make, obeying God's commandments, knowing the even if for right now things are hard, we have a great promise to hold onto, from a loving Heavenly Father. And as we hold onto to that promise, and secure that vision, we have to build, one foundation, one brick at a time, constantly progressing, diligently, lovingly, charitably. We have a great promise, a Savior, Jesus Christ who gave his life for us, and a Heavenly Father who works hard to see us succeed, what better way to honor and glorify them, than to stand up and take hold of our faith, take hold of our lives, and truly become kingdom builders. Free will is a choice gift from God for his children, and as the quote from spiderman goes "With great gifts come great responsibility" We have to take hold, and run this race the best we can.