Modern Day Blessings

I chose three verses tonight because the first two go so well together, and the third one just happened to speak about my blog last night, so I thought I'd throw that one in there as well!

Alma 7:7 & 9 & 21

"For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they all - for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people."

"But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, saying - Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth."

"And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness."

It often amazes me how truly blessed I am. And that's not to say that I deserve all that I am blessed with, I simply live a life that is truly one that is a choice life to lead. I have a wonderful job, a car, a computer, access to the internet constantly, an abundance of clothing, a home to live in, the ability to travel by airplane across the world, a television, an Xbox, a cell phone, an iPod, furniture that is stable, access to any book that I want, a piano to play on, plenty of food to eat, a temple nearby, plenty of fellow church members in my area, the fact that I live in the United States of America, and so much more.

Now, obviously I left out a few very important ones, but the ones I chose to mention were for a reason. How many of those blessings that I just listed to I NEED in order to obtain the Celestial Kingdom. The simple answer is none of them. Not one thing on that list would I consider a necessity. The only ones that come close are the nearby temple and the fact that I live amongst a large gathering of saints. But really, I don't NEED those either. I could live in an obscure part of the nation (or heck, the world) and not have many saints around me, and I could have to travel for hours or days to visit a temple - but that wouldn't make me any less able to obtain the Celestial Kingdom in the life to come, their proximity is simply a blessing.

I think of all the good I could do if I led a simplistic, minimalistic life. How much time in the day do I let myself waste by passing the time doing things that are simply not necessary for obtaining salvation? What ways could I convert my relative affluence into helping the less fortunate? If selling my computer meant that I could provide a life-time of shelter for another of God's children that didn't otherwise have a roof over their heads, I would do it in a moment's notice. At least I like to say that I would. I hope that I would. How many of those blessings that I enjoy did the saints in the early church enjoy? Are they any less qualified for the kingdom than I? 

Yes, affluence and technology make life easier, but is that necessarily a good thing? To an undisciplined person, ease of access and ever-improving technology only serves to turn them into slothful and lazy servants. But does that mean that all technology is a bad thing? No. Because those who are disciplined are able to use those advancements in the world for the betterment of those around them and for the betterment of themselves. They are the ones that understand what a blessing modern-technology and affluence are, and they constantly view them through spiritual eyes; in turn they maximize the use of such things for the spreading of the gospel and for the betterment of others. 

It makes me wonder if I really need all that I have. And if not, what do I currently own that is simply a distraction from the things that I should be doing, and what things do I own that I am using for my personal progress spiritually as well as the progress of those around me?