Latter-day Saints are asked to fast once a month. The idea being that we go without food or drink for 24 hours, and the money we would have spent on that is to go to the poor via what's called a "fast offering". I'm a true believer and all, but in the spirit of true confessions, fasting is something I struggle with.
The prophet Isaiah talked about the law of the fast, and how it would fill us with joy and with the Spirit, and this was later reiterated by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Even though I believe this, and have seen blessings as a result of it, still I struggle.
I take medications that make it necessary for me to stay well-hydrated, so for several years, I kind of gave up on the Law of the Fast. But I slowly realized that I needed more of the Spirit in my life, and so over the last few years, I've tried to show a little more faith. And by doing so, I've found a way of keeping to the spirit of the law in a way that works for me when I do it. And I feel like I've been blessed because of it.
I'm a firm believer that those who keep the commandments are blessed in all ways. But I also believe that (and as modern-day prophets have taught) "...circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation". The important thing is to keep trying in the areas where we're not as good as we'd like to be, and eventually as Isaiah promised,
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 58: 8-14)
The prophet Isaiah talked about the law of the fast, and how it would fill us with joy and with the Spirit, and this was later reiterated by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Even though I believe this, and have seen blessings as a result of it, still I struggle.
I take medications that make it necessary for me to stay well-hydrated, so for several years, I kind of gave up on the Law of the Fast. But I slowly realized that I needed more of the Spirit in my life, and so over the last few years, I've tried to show a little more faith. And by doing so, I've found a way of keeping to the spirit of the law in a way that works for me when I do it. And I feel like I've been blessed because of it.
I'm a firm believer that those who keep the commandments are blessed in all ways. But I also believe that (and as modern-day prophets have taught) "...circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation". The important thing is to keep trying in the areas where we're not as good as we'd like to be, and eventually as Isaiah promised,
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 58: 8-14)
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