More Truth Tools

The Good News today is that there are more

Truth Tools than what we talked about yesterday. In the Doctrine and Covenants 59:4 we are told that the reward for those who are seeking Zion, in other words seeking to be pure in heart, is that they will be ”crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with commandments not a few.” Most of us don’t think of commandments as blessings, but the commandments are Truth Tools—amazing Truth Tools that "crown" our lives if we let them.

One of the most powerful of the Truth Tools is prayer. When the negative feelings begin to swell within us calling upon God can dispel them. Another Truth Tool, Forgiveness, works not only on the negative emotion being generated by the offense we are holding a grudge against, but when we forgive and let go of the bad thoughts, we find that other negative feelings melt away also. Forgiving others works in the soul like taking a warm shower works on the body. You may get in the shower because your feet and hands are dirty, but your whole body gets cleaned and it feels so good.

Repentance, fasting, and the Sacrament are also powerful Truth Tools. When we take the time to analyze our lives and identify what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong and then go to the Sacrament Altar ready to sacrifice the things we are doing wrong and commit to do better the coming week,

we are empowered. Sin generates negative emotion and feelings

and when we give up the sin the negative feelings go with it.

In short, these and other commandments are really an enormous blessing in our lives.

They are Truth Tools that allow us to rid our lives of the negative feelings that push us into the Pit of Illusion and allow us to live in Truth where peace, joy, happiness and love abound. As D&C 59 goes on to say, “He who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (23).