S.M.I.L.E.

I love the scripture in 2 Nephi 9:39 "Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be Spiritually-Minded Is Life Eternal." Maybe it was in seminary, I can't quite remember, but somewhere I learned this fun acronym.  It helps me to smile when I an down. It also made me think about something I read last week about how our spirits are dual. We have spirit matter that makes up our spirit, and then physical matter that makes up our bodies. The two are kind of at odds with each other because of the nature of our flesh, and the goodness of our spirits. If we listen to the flesh and entice our spirit to succumb to the numbing effects of physical pleasure, then that is being carnally minded, which we read is death, spiritual death.  On the flip side, if we control our physical appetites and passions and allow our carnal nature to succumb to the goodness of our spirits, we become spiritually minded and it will lead to eternal life. 

 

Here are few quotes that I loved from the talk by Elder D. Todd Christofferson that I read last week that I mentioned above:

 

"We are dual beings of flesh and spirit, and we sometimes feel out of harmony or in conflict. Our spirit is enlightened by conscience, the light of Christ, and naturally responds to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit and desires to follow truth. But the appetites and temptations to which the flesh is subject can, if permitted, overwhelm and dominate the spirit."

 

"Jesus was also a being of flesh and spirit, but He yielded not to temptation. We can turn to Him as we seek unity and peace within, because He understands. He understands the struggle, and He also understands how to win the struggle."

 

"Most importantly, we may look to Jesus to help restore the inner unity of our soul when we have succumbed to sin and destroyed our peace."

 

"As we endeavor day by day and week by week to follow the path of Christ, our spirit asserts its preeminence, the battle within subsides, and temptations cease to trouble. There is greater and greater harmony between the spiritual and the physical until our physical bodies are transformed."

"Becoming at one within ourselves prepares us for the greater blessing of becoming one with God and Christ."