Dieting, The Book of Mormon, the Gospel, Prayer, etc...

About six months ago something happened to me. I’m not entirely sure what, but it helped me completely turn my life around. I never did anything bad, I just wasn’t doing anything good. I think it started with a book: Standing For Something by Gordon B Hinckley (go read it, if you haven’t.). I like reading church books, but I haven’t ever really applied them. For some reason, I felt compelled to apply what I was learning in this book. Slowly, my life started to change. The changes were gradual and small, but I find myself today, looking back in amazement at everything that has changed. I first began to give service. Not huge life-changing service, but the small stuff that makes someone smile, or have a better day. I also started to pray…for real. After I had the praying down, I started to read The Book of Mormon (again, go read it if you haven’t). Today, six months later, I continue to give service, I have real prayers everyday, I’m just wrapping up with Mosiah in The Book of Mormon, I’ve become 50 times more social, I’ve lost weight (and still continue to), etc…

My reason for mentioning the things above is to explain why I’ve been able to lose weight. My hope is that someone can read this blog, become inspired and motivated, and begin their own journey. There are so many things I am doing differently with my current weight loss endeavor, and those things have made all the difference. I believe that I at where I am today because of the things that I have done personally to prepare for this journey. When I began reading The Book of Mormon and praying, I had no intentions of losing weight (even though I knew I needed to), in fact, it was pretty much the furthest thing from my mind at that time. As my relationship with my Heavenly Father grew, so did my desire to change several things in my life. One thing I’ve always wanted to do was to become more social, and with the help of wonderful roommates and friends, I now attend all the church activities I can, and I actually talk to other people. I try to sit with people I don’t know at church, and I frequently invite people over to the house (mainly to watch The Office… :). Weight loss just came along as a side thought one day, and without hesitation, I decided that was the direction I needed to go. The things that I started to learn about myself, and about my habits were so profound, that I decided to document it. Hence, the birth of a new blogger.

Every night I pray for strength with several things. I recognize that I can’t make any progress without the help of my Heavenly Father, and so I ask him to help me with specific things I struggle with. I used to have terrible cravings, and now I find those same things repulsive. I was just reading a talk from October 2007 General Conference by Elder Bruce D. Porter titled A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit. I line in that talk really stuck out to me: “When we yield our hearts to the Lord, the attractions of the world simply lost their luster.” I’m sure this statement can apply to several different things, but I felt like it really applied to my situation. I am praying to the Lord to help with my cravings, and now those things I used to crave have simply lost their luster. Amazing, eh?

I find that when I am reading The Book of Mormon, I come across verses that really stick out. It’s almost like they were put in there to help me, because they really have. Here are a few of my favorites:

2 Nephi 32:9 “But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.”
Jacob 3:1 “But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions…”
Jacob 3:11 “O my brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell that ye may not become angels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death.”
Mosiah 10:11 What not to do: “Now, the Lamanites knew nothing concerning the Lord, nor the strength of the Lord, therefore they depended upon their own strength. Yet they were a strong people, as to the strength of men.”
Enos 1:15 “…I cried unto him continually, for he had said unto me: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.”

Now, I know that some of the scriptures might warrant an explanation, and that is something I will provide upon request. Each of these scriptures spoke to me at a certain point in my journey, and they aided in allowing me to overcome some type of obstacle. There are so many things pertaining to the Gospel that have helped me, and I wish I could list them all, but I’m afraid this blog would be never ending.

In closing, I am grateful for the trials I have faced in my life, they have only served to make me stronger. I know that if I’m looking for help with things in my life, I make sure that I have the important things in my life in order, and the help will come. It may not be in a way I want, or in a way I initially recognize, but it always comes. Again, I did not begin these small changes in my life with the hope of greater things coming about, but they did, and for that I am very grateful. It’s been six glorious months, and I’m in this for the eternal haul (if you will). I’ve lost 20.6 pounds so far and I’m loving life.