Forgive Yourself

No many how many times  I write, post, and pray to help others understand about forgiving, allowing

ourselves to be forgiven and moving on, there are still so many precious souls who can't seem to let go of past mistakes- not the mistakes of others, but their own. They can't seem to allow themselves to be forgiven, to let Christ's atonement work in their life. They can't seem to tear down that invisible screen Satan places between them and the Lord, blocking their view of the loving arms that are wide open, just waiting to receive them, to take the burden from them and free them of the heavy load they have tried to shoulder alone for so long.
How I wish that we could understand that each time we do this, we are basically saying to the Lord, "I don't believe You." We are not saying, "I don't believe IN You," but "I don't believe YOU." There is a difference.
I meet so many people who just can't seem to get past the past, which is a very, very, very important part of repentance and forgiveness. Believe me, I know! Like Linus with his comfort blanket, they drag it with them wherever they go- they can't seem to help it. But we need to remember that when we are dragging that blanket, there is an evil, unwanted rider onboard, and he is smiling and holding on, attempting to re-soil a blanket that had been laundered. Think about that.
I pray that we can all stay focused on the Savior and His promises, that our past may never dictate our present, or our future.

Destined for Greater Things

I wish wish all my heart that each and every one of us could understand how much we are loved by

the Father and the Son, how much we mean to Them, and how important our individual part is in the eternal plan. Every single person is of value and has a purpose, but it's up to us to use our gift of agency in a way that will help us discover what that purpose is. We truly are destined for greater things, but we cannot receive those greater things unless we let our will be swallowed up in the will of the Father, focusing solely on the things of Christ.
Man is that he might have joy, but to truly experience that joy, it can't be about us.
It is about Him.
It always has been.

He Has Already Lost

We know that Satan is an enemy to God, and so are the evil ones who follow and work with him to destroy the souls of men - a third part of the hosts of heaven, to be exact. He is known as the fallen

one, having fallen from heaven ( or more correctly stated, cast out.) And since Satan is God's enemy, as children of God and followers of Christ, he is OUR enemy as well. Each and every battle we fight against the powers of darkness on a daily basis is a fight against a fallen enemy.

Do you understand how vital that knowledge is!

Remember what I said before about Satan having no power over us except what we choose to give him by our disobedience to the Lord? Well, when we are doing our best to live by the spirit, heeding the promptings of the Holy Ghost, putting the Father and the Son first in every area of our life, the adversary has no power over us. NONE! Yes, we all stumble and fall from time to time, but the minute we get back up, brush ourselves off and begin again, the scrapes and bumps begin to heal and the battle armor is still in good repair, able to offer vital protection against a foe who, though he may continue to wage a war that began before we even came to the earth, will not accept his losses, because due to agency, he can still cause so much damage.

But no matter how many souls he corrupts, no matter how many hearts he turns away from the Savior, Satan will never win. He can't.
May we all live each day armed with faith in the Lord, completely devoted to Him, and sure in the knowledge that as long as we look to him in all our times of trial, no matter what our struggles are, He will help shield against the piercing arrows that the adversary is sure to unleash during the

moments of weakness that come while we patiently wait upon the Lord.