That the Spirit might be Unrestrained Among Us...

That the Spirit might be Unrestrained Among Us...

This spiritual journey that I have undertaken is prompting me to look inwardly at the very depths of my soul and to purify my heart or my thoughts and desires.  

The other day after fasting, I closed my prayer and asked the Lord again for the blessing of knowledge that had been promised to me in two prior priesthood blessings.  I laid upon my bed pondering these things in my heart and drifted off to sleep. As I began to awake the spirit showed me a picture of a conversation with my brother nearly six months ago.  I was made aware that in my zeal to share some recent knowledge that I had acquired through much searching and pondering, that I had inadvertantly offended him.  I was allowed to know from his perspective how he viewed my sharing as a correction, and how he had felt that I devalued him and his opinion.  After seeing this intercourse from his perspective, I was made aware of other sibling relationships where I had been the catalyst for resentment and hard feelings. 

Then I was reminded that the spirit would only be unrestrained if there were no unkind feelings among us.

I realized that I was not yet prepared for what I was seeking.  That in order for me to acquire this blessing, the spirit would have to be unrestrained.  I looked inwardly and saw that there were seeds of offense in my heart that my siblings had been offended by me.  I saw that the only way to root these out and purify myself was for me to go to them with unconditional love and apologize for any offense that I had initiated through my fallacies and lack of ability to communicate my intentions and desires.  I also saw that my behavior had been a stumbling block to them.  I did not want to limit their spiritual progression in anyway. My mind was taken to this scripture...

28 And I would that ye should remember, that whosoever among you ^aborroweth of his neighbor should return the thing that he borroweth, according as he doth agree, or else thou shalt commit sin; and perhaps thou shalt cause thy neighbor to commit sin also. - Mosiah 4:28

I realized that I have accountability with my actions if I am the catalyst for someone else to commit sin. It is easy to look at the person who has been offended, gotten angry, etc. and to judge them and say that they should not have been offended, gotten angry, etc.  It is easy to absolve myself of responsibility by saying that it was not my intention to offend.  It is easy to place all of the burden of forgiveness on the offended person.  However, in that thought process, I was offended by their offense. 

 Pride is the root of this lack of unity.

Unity and the desire to not be a stumbling block for others should be the primary motivator in our relationships, not our own personal need to be right or justified.  

I have learned that anytime I feel the need to justify myself or my actions that I am being prideful and have need to repent.

My thoughts were brought back to the blessing about humility that my father had given me.  Over and over again humility has been a common thread along this path.  It is not something that is learned once, but it is required over and over in all of our relationships.  

Humility and Charity are the keys to bringing down walls that prevent us from being able to share our light with others.  

Charity allows us to receive that inspiration from God about how to impact someone.  Charity shown to other helps them create a place in their hearts for the seed of truth to grow, but Humility allows them to trust the bearer of the truth.  Only when a person feels that light is being shared with them unconditionally in love for the purpose of edification and not for ulterior motives will they be willing to receive it.

With this understand, I went to my siblings and attempted to make things right.  I have been trying in my prayers to ask every night as I reflect back on my day, to see those things that I need to correct and to better purify myself and my relationships with others.  I have found that as I have started this practice that the spirit is prompting me during the day to immediately make the correction when I am in danger of causing offense.

The following is an example of this...

I was driving home with Eric after a day of fasting, and he was particularly abrupt in his stopping and inconsistent with his speed.  His driving was exacerbating my headache and making me sick. I offered corrections patiently at first, but then as he did not make those changes, I began to more berate him more and more.  After arriving at home, the spirit made me aware that my lack of patience was causing seeds of resentment to build up in my son.  Knowing that I did not want him to be in a place where he could not feel the spirit, I went to him and apologized for my handling of the situation.  I explained that I had been fasting and about my headache, but I also acknowledged that was not an excuse for my lack of patience. I apologized for hurting his feelings and encouraged him, by sharing the ways that I thought he was improving in his driving.  I shared that I knew that learning to drive was a process and it was not right of me to expect him to be perfect in it right now.  Then in that spirit we were able to discuss a few things that we would practice during our next drive.

Eric left me without resentment.  I want my children to be powerfully lead by the spirit, so it must be more important to me that I leave them in a place where they can do that than I am right or justified in my behavior.  Helping others on the journey down the path to eternal life takes patience and the ability to put them above myself.  It requires me to be humble and ask for forgiveness and apologize even when I have not intended to cause problems.  This is the path that the Savior takes.  It is one of meekness.

I love the definition of meekness...

godfearing

righteous

humble

teachable

patient under suffering

willing to submit to the Lord in all things

As I seek to be meek in my relationships with others then the spirit will be more unrestrained in my life and I will reap the blessings of that.  I will also be able to be a catalyst for good in the lives of others, helping them to feel the spirit more unrestrained.

The unity that can be enjoyed when two souls experience the spirit unrestrained can be a powerful force for good in this world.  

Satan knows and understands that unity...

 amplifies our spiritual gifts,  amplifies our abilities to lift and protect each other, and amplifies our ability to influence others to change.  

For this purpose Satan seeks to thwart unity, especially in families that are joined together through the sealing covenants of the temple.  If he can get between us, then the Savior cannot be there and the Holy Spirit of Promise cannot seal those bonds. 

Thus creating an environment where the spirit can be unrestrained is crucial to us realizing the blessings promised to us in those temple ordinance. It is worth every effort, every moment of humbling ourselves, and seeking for forgiveness from family members.  It is the only way to enjoy those blessings in eternity.

Here are some conference talks that have helped me to understand this principle.  I invite you to read and study them. As ask the Lord to help you purify your heart towards others, I invite you to then act on those prompting courageously and make a difference.

Utchdorf, Dieter F. "The Merciful Obtain Mercy" April 2012

Zwick, W. Craig, "What Are You Thinking," April 2014

Eyring, Henry B. "Our Hearts Knit as One," Oct 2008

Christofferson, D. Todd "Come to Zion," Oct 2008

Eyring, Henry B. "That We May Be One." April 1998