Hear Him Heal
Attributes of Christ
When hope seemed lost and my world was shrouded in darkness, a patriarchal blessing became my beacon of light—guiding me through the tempest of life. Join Kerrie and me, as we share the profound peace and direction these sacred revelations have brought to our lives. We're also thrilled to debut "Kerrie’s Practice of the Week" and "What Did God Teach Me this Week?" segments, and we can't wait to hear your thoughts on our brand-new song inspired by Enos!
Joseph Smith's visionary teachings on divine progression challenge traditional Christian thought, proposing a journey where mortals can ascend to the divine. As we dissect these groundbreaking ideas, we invite you to walk with us through the pages of the Joseph Smith Papers, where history and theology converge. Whether you're a long-time follower or newly curious about Smith's impact, there's something in this chapter for everyone. Our reflections on these teachings are deeply personal and, we hope, enlightening as we explore our own spiritual evolutions.
From the tumult of incarceration to the calm of faith-driven lives, we bare our souls in a tale of redemption. Our stories of transformation underscore the transformative power of faith and the role of love and repentance in mending and deepening relationships. We explore how placing God at the heart of our bonds can create a love that mirrors the divine—selfless and strong. It's an episode filled with raw honesty, a testament to the human spirit's capacity to rise, rebuild, and ultimately rediscover love's true form.
Vist us for more at www.HearHimHeal.com
When hope seemed lost and my world was shrouded in darkness, a patriarchal blessing became my beacon of light—guiding me through the tempest of life. Join Kerrie and me, as we share the profound peace and direction these sacred revelations have brought to our lives. We're also thrilled to debut "Kerrie’s Practice of the Week" and "What Did God Teach Me this Week?" segments, and we can't wait to hear your thoughts on our brand-new song inspired by Enos!
Joseph Smith's visionary teachings on divine progression challenge traditional Christian thought, proposing a journey where mortals can ascend to the divine. As we dissect these groundbreaking ideas, we invite you to walk with us through the pages of the Joseph Smith Papers, where history and theology converge. Whether you're a long-time follower or newly curious about Smith's impact, there's something in this chapter for everyone. Our reflections on these teachings are deeply personal and, we hope, enlightening as we explore our own spiritual evolutions.
From the tumult of incarceration to the calm of faith-driven lives, we bare our souls in a tale of redemption. Our stories of transformation underscore the transformative power of faith and the role of love and repentance in mending and deepening relationships. We explore how placing God at the heart of our bonds can create a love that mirrors the divine—selfless and strong. It's an episode filled with raw honesty, a testament to the human spirit's capacity to rise, rebuild, and ultimately rediscover love's true form.
Vist us for more at www.HearHimHeal.com
Last time on Hear Him Heal.
Speaker 2:Revelation is something that I've been really working on receiving, and so attending the temple every week has enabled me to feel the power that is in Jesus Christ, and obviously Jesus Christ is all around the temple. Everything is related to him. Living in convenience does not bring us power. The power we need to withstand the heat of our day is the Lord's power To lean in with our faith when facing strong headwinds, to sincerely strive each day to do what we covenanted with the Saviour we would do, even and especially when we are tired, worried and wrestling with troubles, questions and issues Is to gradually receive his light, his strength, his love, his spirit and, ultimately, his peace.
Speaker 3:Welcome to Hear Him. Heal with Kerry and David Mills-O'Neill.
Speaker 2:Hi guys, it's Kerry and David here. Welcome to Hear Him Heal, where today we'll be exploring our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in the first of a series of shows focusing on Christ's attributes.
Speaker 1:We revisit the 1840s with a sermon by the prophet Joseph Smith that explores the basics of human potential and our relationship with Heavenly Father.
Speaker 2:We would love to acknowledge you guys. So there was over 200 downloads last week, so we just want to say a big thank you to everyone that's listening, everyone that's downloaded, and please keep sharing, rating and reviewing. You can also check out our blog, which is filled with the scriptures that we use on the show and has links of anything that we refer to. You can also find us on Spotify, itunes, youtube and many more.
Speaker 1:Also this week we're premiering a new segment that has been under wraps for quite a long time. She's finally rolling it out after much testing. Thank you to the people in the focus groups. It's finally Carrie's brand new practice of the week. I've got a new segment, too, called what Did God Teach Me this Week?
Speaker 2:You know, you guys, if you want us to not do these things, please put your own suggestions in, and we'll listen to them. If you want David to sing a song, then we can do that too, right?
Speaker 1:I'm happy to sing a song. We have that new song about Enos and I was all excited because I thought there'd never been a song about Enos before ever. I was so excited. I uploaded that on Saturday and I'm like no one's ever going to beat my Enos song. Excited, I uploaded that on Saturday and I'm like no one's ever gonna beat my Enos song. And then I went to Sunday school today and the teacher played a song about Enos and I'm like now there's two songs about Enos.
Speaker 5:Eno smelt with heavy burning In the dawn's first light. Prayer descended to the heavens. Faith as fast as endless sea.
Speaker 1:So I'll find the link for the other Eno song and maybe we could have a poll on X where we can vote and see which Enos song is the best. Is it our version, our Enos song, or is it this one? That one had a music video and everything and a guy singing and it was really cool. Tough competition.
Speaker 2:Yes, If any of you have listened to that song yet, we'd love to hear your feedback.
Speaker 4:Give him he'll feel the light, With Gary and David guiding through the night. Stories of faith, whispers of grace In his words. Find your place.
Speaker 1:Today was a really big day, huh.
Speaker 2:It was a big day. So something happened on Thursday this week, when we were FaceTime chatting as usual in the evening, and I felt prompted to read my patriarchal blessing, do you remember? So now I've had my blessing done in 2015, which is two years after I joined the church, and so over the last nine years that I've had it, I've read it many, many times. This is something new that stood out to me. This time it was the same words on the page, obviously, as that doesn't change, but I noticed something that I've had never noticed before. It's something that jumped out at me, and my heart has been troubled recently with a situation that I'm going through with my children following my divorce, and suddenly this tiny paragraph just jumped out and gave me the peace and knowledge that, if I'm faithful to strive and keep the covenants that I've made with God, all will be well. I cried at the time because I was so grateful to the Lord for enabling the Spirit to highlight this to me at the exact same time. I needed it.
Speaker 2:So my patriarchal blessing is pretty cool, isn't it? And you can like pick different things out of it at different times depending on what's going on with your life, and it's just such a wonderful personal message from God to you that will inspire you at different stages of your life. So, listeners, if you have a patriarchal blessing, I encourage you to read it often. Go and get it now and have a read. See if anything has changed, see if anything is highlighted today for you to know, especially if you have questions or struggles. If you don't yet have a patriarchal blessing, then I encourage you to speak with your bishop about getting one. It's so personal and beautiful a message directly from God through his patriarch, to give you guidance, warnings and your lineage to be able to return back to him. David, did anything exciting happen to you today?
Speaker 1:him, david did anything exciting happen to you today?
Speaker 5:Yes, I went to sacrament meeting today which was fun, and I got my patriarchal blessing today, which was really cool.
Speaker 1:Tell me about that. Well, I can't say too much.
Speaker 2:Tell me about your experience, how you feel.
Speaker 1:Well, a patriarchal blessing is like personal revelation, scripture like that you read at different times.
Speaker 1:Bishop told me that it's going to mean like you said, it's going to mean different things at different times for you and that, depending on what you're going through when you read.
Speaker 1:And also the patriarchal blessing isn't just for this life, it's for the eternities. But it was really cool experience, like we went into a, a room and patriarch was there and then my friend, dad and katherine came too, because he said it was all right and then, like it was like a regular blessing for like the first, like 10 seconds, and then I was like whoa, this is like a very serious, like message from god kind of thing, because it was like the patriarch never met me before, he doesn't know anything about me, he just knows my name and yet he was giving me this revelation that was spot on with like things about my personality, things about what I'm dealing with, things about all kinds of things, warnings, different things. It was really really cool. I can't reveal it, but it was really really neat, a really different experience. So if you haven't been able to get a patriarchal blessing, it doesn't matter if you're super old, like 40 or younger, because when do people, most people get their patriarchal blessings?
Speaker 2:normally around like 17 ish, just maybe just before they go on a mission.
Speaker 1:Oh, really Is that when, like the normal time?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Huh, I didn't know that. That's when they did that.
Speaker 2:I think they can get it from like 15, 16, something like that. Oh, you can get it whenever you feel like you're ready and whenever you want to receive it.
Speaker 1:So it's quite a prayerful thing to to want to do well, as soon as you told me about it, I wanted to do it. You know, the official church website says that every worthy baptized member is entitled to receive a patriarchal blessing which provides inspiration, uh, directly from heavenly father. Patriarchal blessings also include a declaration of a person's lineage and the house of Israel, and as a person studies his or her patriarchal blessing and follows the counsel it contains, it will provide guidance, comfort and protection. So pretty cool, right.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. Yeah, it's really really good.
Speaker 1:Each patriarchal blessing, however, is sacred, confidential and personal. Church members should not compare blessings and should not share them except with close family members. They should not be read in church meetings or public gatherings. They should not be distributed or shared through electronic means such as memory sections or family search, or on social media. It's pretty cool. They tell you, like it says, a person is a form of the tribe of Israel which they belong. Yeah, it's pretty cool. They tell you, like it says a person is a form of the tribe of Israel which they belong. This is due to acknowledge the fulfillment of the church doctrine that, through baptism, members become part of the house of Israel, and it is also believed that each tribe may come to understand the unique circumstances of his or her life by knowing which tribe they belong to. The differences between the tribes are generally acknowledged to arise in the differences of blessings and the blessings upon Jacob pronounced on his sons and Joseph's sons, Ephraim, Anas Wow, wow, great.
Speaker 1:A patriarchal blessing is pronounced upon a member only once. In certain circumstances, a person may receive permission to receive an additional patriarchal blessing. This blessing is usually performed in the home of the patriarchal of the seeker. In general, only close members can be allowed. The patriarch places his hands on the seated person and begins to speak the blessing aloud. A recording of the blessing is made at the same time and transcribed copies are kept with church records and are considered by the church to be revelation.
Speaker 2:It's really important to read it often as well, because things do change and you need that guidance, don't you?
Speaker 1:you obviously receive revelation through prayer and scripture study, but this is something that you can always, constantly go back to, and it's something that's written and it's just for you according to church president ezra taft benson, a patriarchal blessing is the inspired and prophetic statement of your life's mission, together with blessings, cautions, admonitions, as the patriarch may be prompted to give In the old days. Matthew Quinn, a church historian at BYU, says that patriarchs used to charge a fee of $1 per patriarchal blessing in Nauvoo, and it increased to $ dollars in the early 1900s. Joseph Smith senior gave patriarchal blessings without a payment but would not record them as your patriarchal blessing is your passport to peace in this life.
Speaker 2:It is a liahona of light to guide you unnervingly to your heavenly home.
Speaker 1:I like that, yeah, so it was a really good experience. I didn't expect I think this is a theme. So last week I gave my testimony right, and I thought I was just going to, you know, sashay up to the podium like no big deal and like give my testimony without being too emotional. I ended up crying my eyes out and this time, like about, he got you know, he put his hands on my head and he's like David John O'Neill and I was like started crying right then. It's like within like the first 10 seconds of the blessing.
Speaker 2:We need to get you some Kleenex, don't we, to put in your pocket.
Speaker 1:Luckily Kat was there and Dan was there and they gave me some Kleenex. But they were crying too.
Speaker 2:We're just a bunch of crybabies, aren't we?
Speaker 1:Yeah well, that's two weeks in a row. Go to church, cry they're happy two years. It's almost like your um baptism where, like you know, you take on the name of christ. Like now I feel like okay, now he has spoken directly to me and now you know, because it also contains warnings in there too, so it's, it's very um. It's almost like a like another baptism. I feel I felt like it was another baptismal ceremony kind of thing, like it's an ordinance. That's very special, like a baptism is something you only do once, right For yourself. I mean, you can do baptisms for the dead, but to me it seemed like that was a very special kind of thing where you were born again in a way.
Speaker 2:From those blessings that we've just discussed, we are guided to develop and refine ourselves to become like the savior. So I'm really excited to talk about some of christ's attributes today. But first, david, you wanted to discuss something that you've been studying this week that you found really interesting. What was it?
Speaker 1:so back on april 7th 1844 long before you were born, sweetie a little bit long before you were born, before I was born joseph smith had his last conference and he asked the saints for their profound attention and he said he was going to talk about the dead. And this was in response to the family and friends of a person called king folate, which is a really cool name. Who's named king folate?
Speaker 2:I would say it's folet.
Speaker 1:Folet I don't know King Folet, that sounds weird, I'm just posh. Joseph talked about the divine, natural and eternal progressions, which to me sounded a lot like Genesis kind of stuff, like Book of Moses kind of things, and early Adam and Eve. You know nature of God, nature of the universe. He explained that if men don't comprehend the character of God, they don't comprehend themselves. He said that God was once one of us and that all the spirits that God ever sent to the earth are susceptible to enlargement, having the capacity to be like gods in the eternities. So he's saying that every single person has the ability to be a god.
Speaker 2:So it's not canonized.
Speaker 1:So he's saying that every single person has the ability to be a God. So it's not canonized, but it also forms a lot of teachings as well about who God is, that God was a man and that God was living on an earth and that he was righteous, that he became a God, that he made us, kind of thing, and so it talks all about those kind of things. So it was the most direct public explanation of these documents, the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses. Both contain passages that stood at odds with different theological positions that were dominant back in Joseph Smith's day. That used to say God is without body parts or passions.
Speaker 1:Revelation received by Joseph Smith in 1832 taught that spirits existed in the beginning with God and that, through the power of atonement, individuals could receive their inheritance and be made equal with him and become gods. Joseph Smith elaborated on these revelations in various settings, helping others grasp the implications of this teaching. So nobody at the time thought that was possible. They were like no God's God, he's got everything. You're just a person, that's all you're ever going to be Like. You're going to go live in heaven with him at some point, but that's. You don't get to do anything more than that. And Joseph was like no, he was a guy just like you, he's got a wife, he's got kids, you're the children and you're going to be like him, and he in fact has a father as well, and he has a great-grandfather and a great-great-great-grandfather, and it's just a long line of this stuff that's going on.
Speaker 1:And so, even though people were aware of joseph smith's earlier teachings about premoral existence, divine nature and exaltations, this discourse stood apart as the defining moment when these key concepts powerfully came together. One person said that joseph had the spirit of inspiration and nearly 50 years later, wolford Woodruff, speaking of the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, declared that those listening to the discourse was the strongest spiritual experience of his life. But some people they denounced the prophet's teaching as blasphemous and said that's why they have a reason for speaking out against Joseph Smith and lots of critics attacked. And since 1844, the church has continued to teach the core doctrines and view this plan of salvation in light of these truths that Smith brought about humankind's premortal existence, mortal experience and their potential.
Speaker 2:This is quite a controversial piece of history, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was a very big deal back then because most people thought that you couldn't become a god and most christians still believe that you can't be. So it's a very, very out there kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Um not even just christianism, but like a lot of other religions, they really separate god from from us and they don't think we don't think we can be in god's presence. I don't think we can even kind of like look at him without you know, falling to the ground or whatever they. They put god a lot higher than us, but actually god made us to be like him, didn't he? He created us in his own image, um, and like it says here, we have that potential to become gods and I love, like later on, how it talks about um, like that, we can become kings and priests, queens and priestesses. You know, we see that in the temple, don't we those those things that we learn from the pearl of great price as well, that we can be those things and we can grow like. The whole thing about this is how we can expand and how, through obedience and commitment to his covenants that we make, he gives us that power to become more than what we could ever imagine so yeah, it was a big deal.
Speaker 1:So it's on the church website. Then I found some links to the Joseph Smith papers and also to a recording that somebody did of it. One of these shows that has links for things that we talk about so, and you can also post comments there as well. So if you want to write something, you can make a comment in that section right there. Inheritance in the celestial kingdom will become priests and kings, priestesses and queens, and their exaltation includes the promise that they are gods, according to dnc 76, 56 and 58, and also psalms 82, 1 john 6, 10 through 34, becoming a god.
Speaker 2:So there you go. That's only website. King, queen, priest, priestess, if you reach the celestial kingdom, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what it says. Well, that's what I wanted to tell you about that, because I just really geeked out on all my wonderful Joseph Smith kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:Do you know what, like I know I said this to you this week as well but I never really had a huge testimony of Joseph Smith. I was never really kind of interested in his history or learning about him as a person. But since you have came into my life all those seven months ago, your passion and your love for Joseph Smith has really ignited a spark in me to want to get to know him a bit more. I always had the testimony of the Book of Mormon of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that he, joseph Smith, translated the Book of Mormon, but I never really had a real good testimony of him as a person. So I thank you for that, david. You've really inspired that in me. So thank you, you're welcome. I'm glad you for that, david. You've really inspired that in me.
Speaker 1:So thank you, you're welcome. I'm glad you got that sweetie. I always was drawn to him, ever since the beginning when I joined the church. I just thought it was so cool that this little boy like wanted to know who God was and he just asked and he got an answer and it was like way more than he thought he was going to get. And then he created all of this almost 200 years later now. I mean, it's I don't know how many, what 350-something temples now, like that's a pretty amazing thing from one question. So like it makes me think, like what am I not asking God? You know what does he want to tell me? What? How can I help if I ask my question? Because usually, just like you and I are always the same most people, we probably have the same kind of questions. And so Joseph did and he took the time to actually ask and he got an answer.
Speaker 2:I think it's really important here to highlight God as well. He doesn't just choose and use those who are professional in their field or who are accomplished in some way. He chooses the most humble of people Moses with his stutter, joseph Smith with his age you know many, many of like Anne with the younger with his defiance, and you know objectiveness to the church, like he chose people because of their hearts, because of their potential and what they can become, not because of who they are at that moment.
Speaker 1:I just absolutely love that that he can use ordinary people like us that are not special, that are just striving and doing their best that's right, we can become anything with him yeah, I think he wants the message to be delivered to certain people because a lot of times you know somebody with a lot of pride or somebody with a lot of self kind of gratification or aggrandizing. They might not be able to hear the message and they wouldn't be able to share it because they'd make it about themselves, wouldn't be able to share because they'd make it about themselves. They'd say well, god chose me because I'm so cool and you have to listen to me. We're just a humble person.
Speaker 1:It's just going to be like, well, you know, I'm sitting in a halfway house broadcasting in a desk, you know, next to a place where they test urine samples, and I'm just trying to tell you about god, like that's like literally what's happening right now, and hoping people don't scream too much or start, you know, playing some music on the computer next to me, and that's literally where we're at, like at the very bottom, and we're just doing our best to just share the message because we feel inspired to do so. You know, and it's just what it is, and we want to take our time during the week to plan and prepare and edit and make things and think about it and pray about it and try to, you know, share this message with everybody, just because if somebody like me that was such a a wreck and such a self-absorbed kind of jerk and now I can actually care about other people, it's a big deal to me that I want to share that with other people.
Speaker 2:Your transformation is such a huge testimony builder, you were prideful, you did seek after the material things of the world and and saw people in a very different way, but now you are a true son of god and you aim to serve and love people and you aim to emulate jesus christ and and pass his light onto them. It's such a beautiful journey that you are on and such a wonderful transformation, and I'm so lucky to get to be a part of that.
Speaker 1:Wow, I'm just lucky that you took me on. Even when I was all those wretched, horrible things, you still saw past and saw my potential and you let me grow. And even when I went back to prison for a little bit and had just a Book of Mormon for two months to read and nothing else, you stood by me for our little 15-minute call every day and all we did was talk about the Book of Mormon and you've transformed my entire existence and life and outlook, and that's one of the things we want to do on the show is just to. Wherever you are, even if you are in that prideful place, or even if you are in the place where you think everything's been taken from you, there is still another way. There are still new eyes to be had.
Speaker 1:And even me, at 53, starting over, you know about to be married, about to be you, about to be sealed, about to have you know. This wonderful life that's in front of me would not have seemed possible last year when I was in a prison and just thinking that you know all the things people said about me were true, when absolutely none of them were. In the eyes of god, I'm a son of god and someone that is able to take on the name of christ and see others as he does and just work for them and not ask for anything and not need anything either. I mean literally. I think when we talked on the phone one time I was so excited because I had a toilet roll right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had no shoes.
Speaker 1:No shoes. I had cornbread out of the trash and that was all I had. But we had the Book of Mormon. We were so excited to just talk about it. I think we were reading third Nephi and, like, I found some scripture about a foundation built on a rock and I was just so excited to share that with you and I wrote so many notes just to tell you about and I was so excited. I had like a half an envelope that somebody shared with me and a pen that I smuggled in that I wasn't supposed to have, just so I could write to you. And I was so excited about that and I literally had nothing. But I had, I had you and I had the spirit.
Speaker 2:I think, just for a little bit of context, before, before all this, you had like million pound houses with pools and loads of cars. You had a grand lifestyle where you didn't want for anything. And to go from that to be humbled, where you were grateful that you had a toilet roll, is a big, is a big, big journey. And because you were down in that place, you were humbled and put on your knees. How many father was then able to, to use you and to to build you up again, to create this man that he always knew that you could become well.
Speaker 1:It's been an incredible transformation. I'm really glad that you've been by my side and that I feel like I've been elevated to your level, because when I met you you were the most spiritual, wonderful person ever and I never would think you would be with me because I was such a mess and nobody else wanted me. But you saw through everything and now others are finally seeing that and now I can stand and, you know, be like okay, like I feel good about sharing this gospel, sharing this, the word of christ, and I feel worthy to share now where before of Christ. And I feel worthy to share now where before I just didn't even feel worthy to have the book. And you've brought me so far and I know that we can keep magnifying this calling that we have and we just hope that by people listening to the show.
Speaker 1:If you just get one scripture or one thing or one possible peek into a different view that you could have of yourself and of life, then that's worth all of our time. That's all we're looking for for other people is that they can just share his light and just get a little bit of that for themselves. You don't have to take everything. We're saying, just one little piece that makes them mean something to you and you can take that and he'll do the rest with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah think that's the most important thing is that we're just shepherding some of his work, and this is just for whatever time we're on the earth. That's what our plan is to do with for people, because it's done so much for us both you just need a mustard seed of faith and the lord will do the rest of the work.
Speaker 2:It's all you need. You need to want, yeah, a little desire to want to, to be as he wants you to be. My practice of the week I'm trying to work on something different each week which will help me to strive to become better. It's personal to us, but we want to share it with you, just for inspiration or whatever. So, following last week's podcast on adversity, which touched upon the atonement and repenting of the things we get wrong throughout the week, so this week I've been pondering on whether I repent enough. So normally, before sacraments, I would repent, so I'm able to take the sacrament and obviously repent if I've done something seriously wrong because, contrary to popular belief, I'm not perfect, do you?
Speaker 1:think.
Speaker 2:I'm perfect babe.
Speaker 1:I think you think you're perfect for me. Yes, I think you're perfect all the time, and you know, there's a thing that happens with you that, I find, is we've only actually met each other twice right yeah you've only been in person twice when you've come to the promised land and the thing about you that I try to like hide from other people so they don't freak out, is that your feet don't actually touch the floor when you walk.
Speaker 1:I just don't know how that works, but it's nice because I guess you never get muddy shoes. But exactly, yeah, I keep my socks white I mean last week we revealed that you're. You have six hours extra of revelation than me, and now we reveal that you actually don't touch the floor when you walk.
Speaker 2:I feel like the listeners are going to know too much about me.
Speaker 1:Well, if you've never seen an angel, you've heard one.
Speaker 2:So I'm not perfect, but I was thinking maybe those little things that I do wrong are going unchecked and unrepented. And you know, like if you start to let something slide, be it little, it can become a habit and can become something that you just ignore, um, because we don't sin just off the cuff. There's often little things that build up to that sin that we're not kind of paying attention to. Um, so in those aspects we would be moving backwards because they're unchecked, right? But christ wants us to move forward, he wants us to strive, he wants us to improve. That's, that's all he's asking us to do, not to be perfect, but to continually strive and continually improve. So I'm talking about these little moments where you might have a bit of road rage if someone cuts you up, or I might lose a little bit of patience with you. David, if you're, you know if our minds are on different pages and we're not kind of connecting um.
Speaker 2:I might be a little bit annoyed with the kids if I've got something going on, or frustrated with my patients if they keep closing their mouth and I'm trying to do a filling, whatever these little things, little annoyances that we kind of build up, so I'm trying to keep those in check. Um, so I'm gonna tell a little story. Um, I was driving in the car with Alicia, and Alicia loves telling people this story and it's quite embarrassing for me what I'm going to say. Um, so we were just driving along chatting about her week and stuff.
Speaker 2:So Alicia is my daughter, for those who don't know and, um, this guy just zooms past me in the car and cuts into my lane and I automatically gave him a finger gesture. What that? This is a middle finger gesture, which is completely out of my character. Alicia went. No, I was so embarrassed and so shocked at myself, but that is because you know, when that happens I'm just like like that. I get really annoyed when people cut me up. Luckily in England there are no guns, so I don't have to worry about being shot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you're over here in Texas, you might want to do that, although you don't drive when you're here because you don't know how to drive on our side of the road.
Speaker 2:I'm scared of driving on that side of the road.
Speaker 1:Well, because it's very counterintuitive to you know, and on the other side of the car. Yeah, I know, that's how I felt when I was over there. I always felt like I was driving from the passenger seat. It's weird, freaks me out anyways.
Speaker 2:so I think it's also really important. You know, like as women, um, we are often kind of really unkind to ourselves. We're often feeling like we're not doing enough or, you know, we're working too much and not looking after the children too much, or we're spending too much time with the children and not working enough. There's a lot of pressure to do, all these juggle, all these plates that we've got to keep them spinning. So we can often be very unkind to ourselves in our minds and it's really important to repent of that as well and just give yourself some grace because you're doing your best in the situation that you've got.
Speaker 1:So you're going to repent, and so because you're doing it, that probably means I have to do it too right, because we have to do everything the same. We're always the same, nonstop. We are always the same nonstop.
Speaker 2:We are always the same, but it's also accountability, isn't it? Yes, somebody to tell me okay, carrie, come on, what have you done wrong today?
Speaker 1:So it's a couple of different things. Right, the first thing would be like the recognition that you sinned. So it's a process by which the wrongdoing if I did something wrong I could feel like remorse, right and make amends, and then I would confess to Heavenly Father.
Speaker 2:And to the people that you've afflicted.
Speaker 1:Right, so basically everybody in my life, absolutely. It's going to take a long time, it's going to be more than five minutes, so I'm doing it at five o'clock every day. So I gotta call everybody in all nations, kindreds and tongues, and repent to them all it's all about your intent, but we are not expected to be perfect.
Speaker 2:That's why we're on this journey, and I think a lot of people expect themselves to be perfect and then, when they fall, they try and hide it or they're shamed or they feel guilt. And that's not repentance. That's not what Christ wants you to feel. He wants you to be free of that feeling. Those feelings are of Satan and he and Satan wants to tie you into those because he knows that you are never going to move forward as long as you are in that shame spiral. So, true, repentance is a change of heart, but it does mean that you strive. It doesn't mean that you are perfect.
Speaker 1:Long story, short five o'clock, repent, repent.
Speaker 2:So what are we talking about this week? Let's get into the meat.
Speaker 1:Do I not get my segment then?
Speaker 2:Oh, yes, you do. What have you learned this week, David?
Speaker 1:What has God taught me this week? Have learned this week, david. What has god taught me this week? Well, I I will be, I'll have a bit of brevity.
Speaker 2:So this week, can I just show the viewers something about that's really special about you, that we learned recently.
Speaker 1:What's that?
Speaker 2:Your vocal range is huge.
Speaker 1:My vocal range.
Speaker 2:Go deep again, like you just did.
Speaker 1:What God has taught me this week.
Speaker 2:And now go as high as you can.
Speaker 1:What God has taught me this week. Now I broke everybody's ears.
Speaker 2:I think that's amazing.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 1:Sorry, just that's amazing right sorry, just, uh, as the future Miss Mills O'Neill, anyway. So I used to think, I don't know, I was thinking about the people that that could be against us, right, and I was thinking like, well, anybody that's against us, they must be bad people and they must be. You know, they're not with me, they're against me, right, there's that saying, right. And then I thought, you know, with my new outlook and the way that I think about things, people may not agree with me, which is fine. You don't agree with me, I mean most of the time, even on the show. You don't agree with me most of the time, which is fine.
Speaker 1:But, like, sometimes somebody might have something against you, but it's really. It might shine a light on something that I need to look at, a character flaw, or maybe it's something that was from my past of how a way that I used to be, because I used to be not a nice person and not a nice person to be around. You know, I did end up in prison. So I kind of thought about those people, like there are people that might not be informed about me, or they might. They might just need to know that, even if they don't agree with me, that it's okay not to agree with me and that christ's atonement is for everyone and that his light shines upon everything, and that we might not agree on every single subject. But that doesn't mean we don't have common goals or common you know, know things in common that we both want to strive for, and so we don't have to agree on things.
Speaker 1:But we can know that we're both children of God and that, despite the disagreement on it could be almost everything, we still have the same core belief that love will conquer all kind of thing. So that's kind of what I learned this week. It's not the easiest lesson to learn because it is kind of not freeing, but it's very like validating. To say, well, this person's against me so I get to not like them, but really it's more of a flaw in me if I do that because I'm not being Christ-like and loving everyone. So even people that are against me, I can use that as a learning experience to see that I can love everyone and I can see them as a son or daughter of God, which I thought was cool. So some people might have already learned that, but that's what God taught me this week.
Speaker 2:Wonderful.
Speaker 1:Which goes into your topic. Right of Christ, christ, and you're going to talk about something similar, so I did have a reason for it. We should change this to jesus and carrie's attributes. It's l o v e love love jesus encompasses love.
Speaker 4:I love you too.
Speaker 2:He absolutely encompasses love. Everything he does is for love. He loves us, which is why he atoned for us. He gave, he gave his body so that we could be resurrected. He poured from, he bled from every single pore and took on the sins of all of us so that we can have a second chance to get back with him and Heavenly Father, it's the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate act of love, and Heavenly Father gave his only begotten son for us because he loves us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, us because he loves us. Yeah, and I think to Kat's point about the evil Christians that I talked about last week. They think that God wants to smite us and put us down for past sins and transgressions. But love is really just one thing right it's patient, kind, it doesn't envy or boast, it's not proud, it doesn't dishonor others, it's not self-seeking, it's not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrong, doesn't delight in evil but rejoices in truth, protects, trusts, hopes and always perseveres. Love never fails, but where there are prophecies, they will cease. Where there are tongues, they will be stilled. Where there is knowledge, it will pass away, but love never dies. What do you think now?
Speaker 2:I'm crying now you're crying and I'm crying because you said those things to me when you proposed to me, didn't you?
Speaker 1:where did I propose to you at?
Speaker 2:at the temple baby at the temple.
Speaker 1:That's where we began our. That's where we met.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm. Yeah, love encompasses all and love can cure all and heal all.
Speaker 1:John 1. John 4 through 7, love comes from God and those who are born of God. John 4, 18,. Perfect love casts out fear. Proverbs 17.17,. A friend loves at all times. Peter 1.22,. Love one another with a pure heart. Mark 12.30,. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And 6.35 of Luke. Love your enemies and do good, which I think is really good.
Speaker 2:So, david, what is love to you? What does it mean to have love? What is love?
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, I think about how the first kind of love I think is unconditional love, which I think is the first kind of love that we as people experience right from our mother, where it's just this kind of love that, even if I throw up on you, you still love me. Do you know what I mean? And then you kind of get other versions of love, like you love ice cream or you love acai bowls, or you love, you know, tacos. But like love, like I said, it's just, it's just an expression, like when Jesus loves you. It's not like, it's not based on a condition, it's not a transactional thing.
Speaker 1:If there's an older man with money and a younger girl with a good-looking body, that's a transactional kind of thing. She needs the money, he needs the young girl, or they think they do, and so that's a transactional thing. They call it love. That's love in the world, but then a Christ-like love would be more, where he'll give you something without really expecting anything in return. You know, maybe that's unconditional, but it's a love that's just. I love you because I love you. I don't love you because you made me something for munch and mingle, although I'd like a cake yeah, I don't know what a year's worth of cake means.
Speaker 2:So, ironically, today was our ward council, as I've said, and the whole theme of the ward council was love and ministering. So it's really ironic that we'd already planned to do this today. So in the Relief Society lesson that our state president, our state Relief Society president, gave, lesson that our state president, our state relief society president, gave, she kind of said you know what, what is love to us? And we all kind of said what we think it is. A lot of people said, um, it's like allowing me to be me, it's um like serving me, it's a smile, it's a hug, it's um an act of kindness, it's blah, blah, blah. I said it's somebody that really sees me like, actually sees into my soul, sees who I am, accepts that in that space and time, doesn't try and change me but allows me to be me, but sees also my needs and my desires and will actively do something about that to help me lift my burdens in some way. To me that's love, um, and another lady said that that love is a verb, it's a doing word and all of those kind of actions and examples of love required an action. You can't love and just sit on the sofa and just look out. You know you actively have to be doing something to make that love stay there, to make it stronger.
Speaker 2:A lot of people fall out of love in a marriage because they stop putting into it, they stop giving each other any of the five love languages or any of the million ways that we can show love, and I think it can be also a misunderstanding about what love is to that person. You know, you and I talked about love languages and one of your love languages is words of affirmation, isn't it? You like, um, you like to be verbally told that you're loved, or you know things that you're doing. You like for it to be acknowledged and verbalized. So that's one way that you feel loved. Now, if I was to, um, if I was to come around to your house and like clean the house for you like, you'd be like, oh, that's amazing, but you wouldn't feel loved by that right, um, and another one of those gone you said it'd be nice yeah, but another one of yours is gifts as well.
Speaker 2:So, like you explore and experience that love through those love languages. And if I'm speaking to you in a different language, like if I just want to, you know, spend all my time with you, or um, or just like stroke your face all day, you know you might not feel loved in that way as you would do in other ways. And it's the same with people around us that we're loving. We actually have to get to know them, to understand how they feel love, and then we can kind of give them that love that they need.
Speaker 1:Just a thought came to my head what do you think God's love language is?
Speaker 2:I think his is service acts of service, because in one of the scriptures it says um if you're in the service of your fellow being, you're only in the service of your God. Um. And it says if you me, you'll love thy neighbors.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean. Jesus communicated God's love through acts of service, such as washing the feet of others. That's one of them. I've got John 14, 21. Jesus said if you love me, you will keep my commandments. And although in John 3, 18, he says love can be expressed through actions rather than just words, for example, jesus's first love language was service. He says do you understand what I've done to you? You call me teacher and lord, and rightly so, because I am so. If, then, I'm your lord and teacher, have you washed the feet? Have you learned to wash one another's feet? For I've given you example, just as I have done to you in John 13 through 12. But other people say that God uses the five love languages words of affirmation, quality time, gift, service and touch. I don't know. I just thought I'd share that because it popped up when you were speaking so wonderfully. We can pause, it's fine.
Speaker 2:So in Matthew 22, 37-39, we read that Jesus said unto him so we're responsible not only for loving God first and foremost before anything else, but we're also responsible and asked to love thy neighbor as thyself. Why do you think they I know we were listening to this on the follow him podcast this week like why do you think that we were asked to love god first and foremost before loving anything or anybody else?
Speaker 1:well, if you didn't love god first, if you like, if you just loved me and you didn't love god, I think you'd be obsessed with me and obsessed with a certain way that I am. And if I wasn't that way, you'd fall out where, if you love god, you understand that you love god even when you don't like what god is asking you to do, even when you're a natural man and want to like, do whatever you want to do, and it breaks the commandment and he kind of takes the blessings away from you or gives you a circumstance or well, it's not a circumstance, a consequence right, there's a consequence to your actions, from sin. If I did that to you and I wasn't the way you wanted me to be, you probably couldn't love me that way. But because you love God first, you understand to love him the way he is and the way he's not. And that's the way you love me because, contrary to popular belief, sometimes I'm not the easiest partner.
Speaker 2:No way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sorry. You're perfect for me, darling sometimes I can get quite depressed and you have to rescue me I like rescuing you, you rescue me and he rescues both of us exactly.
Speaker 1:We turn to him and he'll pick us up which is, I think, the greatest expression of love that he has for us is that he just accepts us as we are, and I think it's something that you said earlier about how I am with you, that I just accept you. But if I didn't love God first, I wouldn't know how to do that. Yeah, exactly, and in fact, when I didn't have that in my life, my relationships and marriages were fraught with me wanting someone to be a certain way, and when they weren't, I withdrew my love. And they weren't, I withdrew my love. And guess what happened? Divorce and destruction and terrible things happened after that, and that was because I didn't put God first. And that's why, in our marriage, I'm not first and you're not first. We put the Lord first.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:That's how it has to be, and anytime we have a big thing to think about or we pray first, we don't go. Well, what does David think? Oh well, my husband thinks this or that, or my wife thinks this. It's like no, okay, you might think that and I might think this, but we're going to put it to the Lord first, or we're going to fast about it us, which most of the time happens that we both kind of get that same revelation.
Speaker 2:but we have like a deeper, like I think, faith in that revelation than we would if we're just going based on a worldly view the lord is not concerned with who's right, but what is right, whereas I think, like we as people, human beings are always concerned with who's right.
Speaker 1:We want to point score, we want to win yeah, well, in ephesians 5, 25, it says husband loves your love, your wives, as christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. So it's like this that that one really speaks to me too, because it's like you know, like when we were deciding something between you and I, I I said, look, I don't care what happens, I'll be put in prison even longer, if need be, just to be with you. It doesn't matter to me. And that to me was this Ephesians 525, where Christ gave himself up for the church. I give myself up to you.
Speaker 1:That's like the expression of love that he teaches. That's his example. Do you know what I mean? To give yourself up for someone that you love like that, that to not be concerned about yourself when he's nailed to a cross and dying, you know he's still not concerned about himself what he wants from us is a broken heart and a contrite spirit, just like you always have to be that that didn't happen until, which is why some people don't know why we have temples, because before temples were used to sacrifice animals, but now we don't do that because that was law of moses.
Speaker 1:Now the sacrifice is a broken heart and a contrite spirit, right exactly the temples are used for something different now, but they there still is a sacrifice that is required yeah so I don't know. I have lots of things in my head, but I thought this was really cool.
Speaker 2:I like that so like when it says to love other people. Some people are easy to love, right some. Some people might not be so easy. In matthew 5, 43 to 44, when jesus preaches Sermon of the Mount, he says you have heard that it have been said thou shall love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you love your enemies, bless them. That curse you, do good to them, that hate you and pray for them, which despitefully use you and persecute you. So how do we love those that are not so easy to love? In belief sites today, we called them the prickly ones. How do we love those prickly ones that are and not so, not so easy, not so familiar and good for us to love?
Speaker 1:yeah, I think you mean loving somebody like that. That's not easy to love would be more. It's like you taught me to see people as sons and daughters of God, and see them as children of God and not see them as like. I think that sometimes the trap is to say, well, I'm this over here and that person's that over there, when really they're the same thing as you, they're all made from the same godlike material and they're all having struggles, even if their struggle might be different at the time, they're still breathing air and they still have hopes and dreams and they still have fears. And the thing to realize is maybe their natural man tendency is showing more through than mine at that second, but that doesn't make me above them.
Speaker 2:I think that's kind of something when, maybe when something prickly happens those people that are having that like with the dark spirit that really just want to hurt you. They are often the people that need love the most and often people that haven't experienced love. I remember, before I joined the church, just thinking that there are no good people in the world, like literally everybody that I come into contact with just wanted something from me. They didn't, you know. I honestly believe that there just wasn't any nice people. And then I joined the church because I met some nice people. I suddenly realized actually, you know, it's not like this, it's just the circle that I was in that was like that.
Speaker 2:So people have potential to change and Jesus Christ knows that. And that script that we read about Joseph Smith like he understood that we all have a divine potential to grow and change, just like you have, just like I have. Just like any convert to the church, including those that are born in the church, would have had to be converted and get a testimony. There are many good people outside the church as well, in different religions, but everybody has that potential to become gods and we need to kind of see them through Christ's light and Christ's eyes so that we can love them as they deserve to be loved.
Speaker 1:I got Doctrine and Covenants 18, 10 through 11. Remember, the worth of a soul is great in the sight of God. For behold, the Lord, your Redeemer, suffered death in the flesh, wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. 1.
Speaker 2:John 4, 7 to 8, and it says and come unto him. 1 John 4, 7-8,. And it says Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God, and he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. I think if you come closer to him, you will naturally just want to love others, because when you're in the service of others and you're in the service of your God and that's how we show that we love God by obedience and keeping our covenants, but also by bringing people to him. By loving people, we're enabling that relationship to draw them to close to close to god, to draw them to feel of his love for them, and that's our purpose here on the earth. That's why we're here. We're here to bring people to christ I'm with you on that.
Speaker 1:I got one more from your favorite favorite book, mosiah yay 1821, and he commanded them that there should be no contention with one another, but they should look forward with one eye, having faith and baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and love towards one another. I really like that one.
Speaker 2:That is beautiful. Boom. I'm so excited about King Benjamin this week.
Speaker 1:I know, I know you're really excited about him.
Speaker 2:So excited. I know we're kind of ahead, so we've already read Messiah. I think we're on six.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Now so we've already read ahead of the Comfort of Me, but I'm so excited. The podcasts are amazing. On Follow Him as well, there's somebody that loves King Benjamin more than I do. On that.
Speaker 1:I didn't think there could ever be anyone that loved King Benjamin more than you, because since I met you, you've been talking about pitching your tent towards the temple. You've been talking about King Benjamin, how you love him. Ben is named after King Benjamin, your son.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:King Benjamin is your best friend.
Speaker 2:He is wonderful.
Speaker 1:But that lady on that show, I feel like she loved King benjamin more than you because she was like.
Speaker 2:I think at one point she said king benjamin was her only friend for a while I think she's taking the biscuit that was like, her only friend was king benjamin mosiah four, like if you need to know anything, just look in there, like that's it mosiah four that whole chapter we're gonna.
Speaker 1:Maybe that should be your recommendation for the week. We should have another segment called Recommendation of the Week Messiah 4. I'll put it in the show notes. Anybody who wants to read Chapter 4 for bonus credit. There you go, all right, well, thanks to everyone who listened this week on Hear Him Heal. I'm David, and I'm Carrie. And that's it for the show.
Speaker 3:See you next week for another episode of Hear Him Heal. And I'm Carrie. You have a question? Record it and send it to our special hotline. Please keep your message under two minutes and mention your name so we can acknowledge you on the show. You'll also find plenty of information about our latest books and more from the Hear Him Heal podcast universe. Interested in being a guest or know someone who has a story to share, please reach out through our website, hearhimhealcom. Join us next week for more healing stories inspired by Jesus Christ. Until then, stay blessed, whispers of grace In His words find your place.
Speaker 4:Join us each week. Let your heart sail On waves of tales where miracles prevail. Jesus' love so deep and real. Come and embrace as you hear Him heal. We are now at Upper Session Road, you're welcome.