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The Grace of God Is Received Through Service and Obedience"He gives grace (or goodness) for grace, attribute for attribute. As our obedience increases, we receive more grace (or goodness) for the grace we return to Him." Elder Gene R. Cook; Charity Perfect And Everlasting Love He Gives Grace (Goodness) For Grace, Attribute For AttributeThe prophets teach to not let a day pass by without doing a good deed for someone else. There are two kinds of people in the world, the givers and the takers. The key to receiving a large measure of the grace (enabling power) of God is to be a giver. The best givers are also superb receivers. Receiving and taking is not the same thing. Taking is receiving with no intention of giving back, while receivers do so with the intention of giving back. SOME KEYS TO RECEIVINGElder A. Roger Merrill in his talk Receiving By The Spirit taught how you can more fully receive mainly in church meetings but it applies in personal study also. He taught three keys to receiving;
Seek: Elder Merrill said we live in an entertainment world which is a spectator world. He said too many attend meetings expecting to be entertained. People who take notes in meetings will always receive more than those who do not. Note taking sets the foundation for great personal revelation. My personal favorite note taking method is the mind mapping strategy. Google mind mapping if you are not sure what it is or how to do it. The natural consequence of seeking is feeling and when you feel you naturally have a desire to act. President Eyring taught me how to never be in a boring meeting, and which actually taught to President Eyring by his father. The key is to teach yourself the topic the speaker is teaching; which makes mind mapping a powerful strategy. With mind mapping you make links, connections, lists and patterns that you had not considered previously. Another way to receive and give at the same time is to pray for the speaker in your heart while he/she is talking. Truth is one of the most powerful gifts you can give because Satan's most powerful means of putting you in bondage is through causing you to believe in lies and follow false traditions. Believing in lies results in being entrapped in additional bondage because your actions are based on lies. I also think about the parable of the talents that was originally taught by Christ. The moral of that parable is the more you give the more you receive from the Lord. As Your Obedience Increases, You Receive More Grace (Or Goodness) For The Grace You Return To HimYou can't be a good giver if you don't have anything to give which is why you receive more grace for the grace you give to God. How you treat others is an indication of the grace you give to God. The Book of Mormon teaches that when you are in the service of your fellow man you are really only in the service of your God. The scriptures also teach that man and woman (people) are God's greatest creation. The scriptures also teach how great is the worth of souls. How well do you understand the worth of souls, rank it on a 1 to 10 scale, one being not very much and 10 being perfect charity. The closer you are to a 10 the more grace you will have. Who do you know that is close to a 10? Who do you know who has charity which is the pure love of Christ? Charity is not a feeling or an emotion because you can clearly love another when they are mistreating you. The message of the atonement of Christ is how He loved others even while they were torturing and mistreating Him. When others tortured Christ, He loved back. When others crucified Him, He loved back. Not only did Christ love back when He clearly wasn't feeling good but He healed His accusers. The takeaway message is giving is a much more noble life than taking. Think of all the ways you can give;
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