Is that a Prompting?

I was finding some resources on the Church Gospel Media, preparation for Issac’s and Annabelle’s testimony videos. I came across an invitation from President Nelson.

On New Year’s Day 1/1/2020, President Russell M. Nelson shared the following message on social media:

“When I spoke during last October’s general conference, I designated 2020 as a bicentennial period commemorating 200 years since God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith in a vision. That singular event in human history initiated the Restoration of the Lord’s gospel—an unfolding Restoration that continues today. How blessed we are to live in the light of that vision. With that vision came new understanding about the nature of God our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

God loves all of His children and has a vision for each of us. Just as He listened to Joseph’s prayer in 1820, He listens to you and yearns to speak with you through the Spirit. Heavenly Father wants you. We want you. This is going to be an important year. We invite you to be a major part in sharing the message of the ongoing Restoration of the Savior’s gospel. We will share more about this soon, but you can start today by acting on the invitations I extended to you at last general conference to immerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration.

What does that look like? You may wish to begin your preparation by reading afresh Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price. Or ponder important questions such as “How would my life be different if my knowledge gained from the Book of Mormon were suddenly taken away?” or “How have the events that followed the First Vision made a difference for me and my loved ones?”

Select your own questions. Design your own plan. Act on any of these invitations to prepare yourself for sharing the important messages of the ongoing Restoration. As you seek Jesus Christ in these efforts, God will prepare you to receive further light. It is your personal preparation that will help April’s general conference become for you not only memorable but unforgettable. The time to act is now. This is a hinge point in the history of the Church, and your part is vital.

I testify that Jesus Christ lives. He leads this Church today. God is trusting us, all of us, to play an important role in the Restoration of His gospel.”

Our Kuala Lumpur District Relief Society President, Sister Min Lian did asked every branch Relief Society Presidents of the Kuala Lumpur District to post at their own branch Relief Society group chat to invite sisters in the branch to share their testimony of restored gospel in their own group chat.

It was as so much things to do and I just posted on our Puchong Relief Society group chat and did not put much attentions into it. There was not much response from the sisters either in the group chat.

After I did some editing on some videos of sisters’ testimonies for the branch Zoom open house, I kind of an idea that if we could share the testimonies on Puchong Branch Facebook page. Then, I came to this invitation that President Nelson shared early of the year.

I am thinking of, if, if we could ask sisters to participate in sharing their testimony on the restored gospel in video form. Then, we can edit and add some music and post it to the Puchong Branch Facebook page, may be a video a week.

May be we can make it more specific, pray for some questions such as the questions posted by President Nelson, and more… then assign to the sisters… then they could email their testimony videos to us.

Half of year 2020 had passed, we still have another 2nd half year of 2020… left about 30+ weeks… my heart and mind is thinking of at least we do what our Prophet asked us to do.

I do not know why my mind had been thinking about this lately during I was editing the Zoom open house video for Relief Society. And this thought keep on banging on my mind that I have to, and I need to do this.

Is that a prompting from the Spirit?

Press Forward

I feel excited and happy today, because I know that as I am doing the things that the Lord wants me to do, I can feel the Spirit is whispering to me every moment now and then.

I was driving to the Church together with the children this morning, my mind was not really focus on the Savior this morning. There were so many thoughts here some pieces and there some pieces flooded in my mind when I tried my best to think of the Savior and get ready for the sacrament.

I prayed in my heart that I can be focused and forgo the thousand thoughts which were non-related to the Savior. While I was making a U-Turn, suddenly there was a hymn that I do not remember what the title of it and I was humming the melody of the hymn.

I was stunned for a while which it made me recalled that last week I had experienced the same thing during my driving to the Church. I was humming one of the sacrament hymn and I remembered that because I did ask Issac what is the title of the hymn that I was humming, and he was answering me with the name of the hymn.

Later in the sacrament, we were singing exactly the same hymn which I was humming earlier on in the car, and it was actually Hymn no. 169 As Now We Take the Sacrament, and not the one that Issac told me in the car. We were discussing about that after the Sacrament ordinance last week.

I was quite upset this morning as last night Alvin did not call and my mind became distracted. We were singing the Hymn no. 172 In Humility, Our Savior. And, my eyes came across these few lines:

Fill our hearts with sweet forgiving;

Teach us tolerance and love.

Let our prayers find access to thee

In thy holy courts above.

When I sung the sacrament hymn I was touched by this words, and at that moment I was thinking of Alvin. I know that Heavenly Father ask me fill my heart with forgiving and learn tolerance and love. I was shedding my tears during the Sacrament. I was touched by the Spirit.

And the closing hymn was Hymn 81 Press Forward, Saints. It was exactly the hymn that I was humming in the car this morning. It happened again. I feel as it is the Spirit is whispering to me, ask me to press forward no matter how and whatsoever circumstances that I am in.

And, just as I thought that everything is alright, I was upset with the things which I am facing now. I think first thing is I should put my trust and faith in Jesus Christ, despite the things that happened to me that I do not know what to do now.

Press forward, Saints, with steadfast faith in Christ,

With hope's bright flame alight in heart and mind,

With love of God and love of all mankind.

Press forward, feasting on the word of Christ.

Receive his name, rejoicing in his might.

Come unto God; find everlasting light.

Press on, enduring in the ways of Christ.

His love proclaim thru days of mortal strife.

Thus saith our God: "Ye have eternal life!"

Bringing Hope

I felt so stunned when I opened this video notification from the YouTube Mormon Channel. I seldom watch the YouTube when it come from Mormon Channel as I have a thought like as it is for the investigators. But anyhow I am grateful as I had watched it.

Ben Taylor tells of how he listened to his heart and turned the efforts of a presumed scam artist into a chance to help a whole village. “Hello sir my name is Joel I want 4 us to get into some business, if u can get some used Laptop, Computers, Printers, P.A. Sets and other Electronic Devices so dey can b sold faster.”

Ben Taylor heard about these internet scams before and felt he needed to teach the scammer a lesson. So, when he messaged back, little did he know he’d set off a chain of events that would empower an entire village. “Joel I’d like to talk with you about a different business opportunity…if you’re interested.”

Ben lied that he worked in the photography business and collected pictures from around the world. He asked Joel to take some photographs from his part of the world. Joel told him he needed a new camera to take pictures. Would you send someone you’ve never met a camera? Neither would Ben. “Joel, any camera will do, even the camera on your phone.”

“BING!” Joel’s first pictures came through and they were terrible! Maybe Joel really did need a better camera. So, Ben invested in a camera and some basic photography textbooks and shipped them to Joel. As Ben sent the package off to Liberia, he thought it would be the end of their communication, “This guy’s going to sell that camera and make some money and I’ll be out money.”

“BING!” a message from Joel came in a few weeks later. Bing, Bing. More messages with better and better images. Joel took that cheap camera, read the books and began taking really good photographs!

As Joel became a better photographer, Ben made good on his offer and compiled the images of village life in Liberia. Pretty soon Ben had enough good images to publish Joel’s book of photographs. When Ben took to social media and shared the story of their unlikely friendship, they inspired thousands of people, and made $1,000.

Ben and Joel planned to split the money from the book sales. But when Ben learned that $500 was the average earning per year in Liberia, he couldn’t, in good conscience, take his cut. “Give it to a charity or someone in need”, Ben was uncertain whether Joel would really give it to charity or pocket it for himself.

“Bing!” a message from Joel with picture after picture of school children holding new book bags and notebooks. Joel had supplied five local schools with much needed supplies.

Joel told Ben the opportunity to be charitable was one of the best things to come out of their friendship. Ben thought he was going to teach this internet scammer a lesson. But instead he learned the lesson. When you give someone a chance, sometimes they might let you down, or they might just surprise you.

I love the most what Ben was shared in the end of his story telling about this amazing journey of his:

“I think this story shows how prayers works. What Joel really wants and want he earnestly pray for was money. And instead what he got was a cheap camera, but with that camera he was able to inspire hope in million of people and changing his family life.

Sometimes I think instead of giving what you want, God will give you a cheap camera and He will expect you to figure out the rest. And then the journey it all take, will make all the difference.

God will answer prayers but sometimes He would need you to be that answer, my message today is that you should be that answer.

On days when I can’t find God and it seems like He doesn’t hear me and care about me in what is going on in my life, I return to situation a year ago when I know that He thought enough of me to send me a request for help. So take a chance on people, you will find something in your own life that you don’t even know what is missing.”

Instead of struggling what dwell in my own sadness, pains and keep on wondering why this thing happened to me, I should just focus the things that I can do. It is the same message that I feel as the Lord wants me to know.

Clara knows that she herself was her own answer to the path ahead of her in The Nutcracker and the Four Realms as I watched last Saturday. This is the same message that I get from this YouTube video. The Lord repeatedly telling me that I am His daughter. I am the answer of my path ahead. And, He knows that I can manage the trials that in front of me. I indeed feel His presence during the time of need.

Connect All the Dots…

Today I sat down and think… refresh my memories and connect back all the dots and lines which I had been encountered for the past few days. I am indeed amazed!

For the past few days I was too blind and too deaf to hear the communications or the messages from Heavenly Father that I really missed had I not been striving to hear it and see it. Heavenly Father was and is trying to reach out to me everyday!

On last Friday, I received Sister Saffron message through WhatsApp. It was President Dieter F. Uchtdorf about Faith. “Faith comes to the humble, the diligent, the enduring.”

I was just read it through and did not put into my heart. I remembered that I did come across the scripture line that asked me to have faith in Heavenly Father and be humble, meekness and pray to Him.

On last Saturday, Sister Saffron sent this message to me, Elder Ronald A. Rasband said, “I begin by reminding you that you are a son or daughter of a loving Father in Heaven...” I too just read through the message and did not put into my heart at all.

I remembered that on Saturday,  I was watching The Nutcracker and the Four Realms as part of our programme in celebrating Issac’s birthday. Clara receives an egg-shaped box from her father as it is a present that her late mother given to her before she died.

The egg-shaped box which she is unable to unlock, together with a note saying "Everything you need is inside". While Clara’s godfather, a skilled engineer Drosselmeyer were talking to her in the movie, I sort of sensed that The Lord is talking to me in the movie too. And it has been as the Lord is telling me that I am His child, do not be afraid.

Finally Clara managed to open her egg-shaped music box and discover a mirror, illustrating that all she needed was herself. This message as it was from the Lord, was telling me that I am the answer to all my fear and troubles. He was telling me that I have a great talent that I have ever know. I am the key of all the questions and puzzles of all. I can feel His love at that instant.

Heavenly Father is reaching out to me everyday to tell me in every ways the things He wants me to know. It is really so miracle that the message each day is the same, just I did not see it! This is really a testimony that I have and I would not want to forget, and how the power of ministering able to reach to those who need.

All these sequences of spiritual experiences made me realise that I have to do in the Lord’s will. If I am too anxiously want the end results (prayer) in my will, I will feel lost… I think that was the reason being why I was worrying and troubling for the whole week.

Heavenly Father indeed knows me very well… That was the reason why He sent Sister E Chin to talk to me last Sunday. Suddenly for this instance, I just feel like, I am not a so obedient child at all, till Heavenly Father have to ‘speak loud’ to me on my face. I was too upset and that was the reason why hinder me from seeing and feeling.

This is the closest that I can feel and start to understand how Heavenly Father talk and answer my prayers. I really would not want to forget these precious moments for the rest of my life…

We were sending Alvin to the KLIA2 as he was taken the earliest flight back to Johor Bahru, after which I send both children to their school. We had our breakfast at 24 Hours KFC which is just near Mecaje this morning.

I know that there are still a lot of things will happened in front of our marriage journey, but the Lord let me knows that He is always there beside me, even though I cannot sense it or feel His presence because of I was too focus on my sadness, anxiety, worries that had blocked me from listening and feel Him.

Visiting Teaching Messages for the Sisters

These are all the visiting teaching messages for the sisters for this month, as I couldn’t make it to do a visiting teach face to face. Hope the sisters would like the messages!

A Marriage…

Aunt Jasmine actually posted this video clip on her wall someday ago. I noticed it, but I did not really open the video and play it, as I saw it is a dharma talk, and I do not have time to look at it. It is almost an hour clip.

During last Friday dinner at the Forum Ah Yatt Abalone Restaurant, she asked me to watch it, because there is something more than the gay marriage that the monk is talking.

“ In a marriage, you should never think as yourself; in a marriage, you must not think as your partner; in a marriage you just think of us. And, it is not about me – the selfishness; It is not about sacrifice in myself to my partner; In a marriage, it is about losing yourself to the relationship, losing yourself in renouncing me, to us.”

“ It is not about trusting yourself, is not about trusting your partner, is trusting the relationship, the us part of thing. What happened is the us-ness, and the us-ness is the spiritual thing. None selfness. That is why a marriage is a spiritual thing.”

It is the marriage all about, in the eyes of Buddhism. Ajahn Brahm talks really does open my eyes to the mistake that I done. The us-ness, which probably previously I did not feel it or do it or realize it, that is why probably sometimes he felt so fed up on me, especially when doing the household chores?

I do not know…When I think deeply, it is not just me only who do it, how about him? He was and always is having an affair non-stop, right? That does not matter now.

I just noticed it now, that this clip was published on 21 March 2012. It was the day which I received the divorce letter from him. Everything happened for a reason, am I right? It is just the matter of time?

Getting to Know Mindfulness…

This morning, I brought the children go to Aunt Jasmine’s house. Both were so happy as they went there long time ago, and there are koi pond, a goose, rabbits, a poodle dog, and a lot of space for them to run around. Her Cambodian maid was looking after them, then I just follow Aunt Jasmine and Ed Mun to their Joyfully Together Center.

It was at one of a shop lot nearby, occupy ground and 1st floor. It was plain and simple in design. I wrote my name at the guest book before entered to the 1st floor.

Some of their Sangha members were already there. We were sitting in a circle, there are 2 types of books in front of us, one is the practice book and the other one, which I borrowed back is “The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching” by Thich Nhat Hanh.

After some singing of the mindfulness song, we walked to downstairs, took a typical cone shape straw hat and a stick each. We walked towards the field opposite the shop lot, Sister Amy briefed me about what is “Walking Meditation”, then she leaded us. Probably this is the first time I “walked”, I am the slowest among all.

Then, we practice the stick exercise. And, we walked back to the center. The sharing session, basically is reading the designated book, and the members shared some ideas and their thoughts on how are they practice the mindfulness and it change or how to improve them. The session ended with the light snacks around 12:00 noon which prepared by all the members.

There is afternoon session with the relaxation or meditation, but I asked Aunt Jasmine to send me back first, because I am just too worry for the 2 children in the house, and their Daddy is coming back from the Church to take them out.

We reached home around 2:30pm, and when we wanted to go out time is around 3:30pm, I just asked him, “You said you got appointment at 5:00pm at KL? Can you manage to go out now or not?” He just looked at his watch, and said to Issac, “Issac, Daddy got things to do and appointment need to go, Daddy will bring you go next time ya,” Issac just nodded his head and walked in to the living room. He did not speak, but I knew he was sad.

We had our pasar malam bought dinner as usual without him. The children slept early as they had playing the whole morning till afternoon.

I prayed to the GOD, even I am not a baptized Christian, hope YOU can looking over my 2 children. I am not doing bad things or sins but I believe that, YOU will equally love your sons and daughters regardless that they had been baptized or not, because this is what LOVE is… and YOU would not let them suffer just like I do now.