ABOUT PRAYERS 2

I remember a talk with an investigator of the church about prayers. He sometimes had a hard time to pray out loud with the missonaries and me. He always followed the same scheme and had it written down on a paper. 1) Adress God 2) Thank him 3) Ask him 4) Close in the name of our Savior.

This made him nervous; what if I ask before thanking? Well there is nothing wrong with that and also, prayer can be said in one's mind or out loud. Some people find that praying out loud makes it easier for them to focus. For me I rather pray in silence when I am by myself.

When it comes to pray in a group there are lots of reasons why people find it hard to pray out loud.

They might be shy or they worry about what people will think of them if they stumble over their words. Sometimes I have found it hard to pray out loud and when I was an investigator a member of the church said after a prayer; that was an honest prayer. Yes, my prayer was honest but it made me think; what has been wrong with my other prayers?

When hearing a prayer in a group or at meetings in a church it is nothing wrong if you don´t get a strong feeling from the spirit. Important is that the person saying the prayer is honest and might be the Holy Spirit gave something to another member in the group. I have heard prayers in ward meetings that have touched my heart right there and then. Sometimes praying together goes hand in hand with sharing our struggles. And that is good.

On the other hand one pattern that consistently appears in the Book of Mormon is that people often go to a private place to pray. For example Nephi went out:

"And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers."  (3 Nephi 3:11)

Prayer is the way we communicate with God and as long as we are honest God will hear us.

I also think there are different kinds of prayers.

Your body needs lots of nutrients to help you grow and to give you energy to do everything that you. Sometimes when we are on the run we have to have a fast snack to get the energy that will keep us going. But every day we also need proper meels. A good breakfast is for example important.

The same thing with our prayers; Yes we are busy people sometimes and can have a ”snack-prayer” in our lifes. I can have it many times during a day. But to get the nutrition for my soul i really try to put time into my morning prayer. Wath do the Lord want from me today? And at least one other ”healthy-meal” prayer during the day.

http://jfinne.blogspot.fi/2014/05/about-prayers.html

GUESTBLOGGER

So I am a guestblogger on a great site. http://mormonlady.se/. I like they wanted my blogpost in my mother tongue; svenska. Tack. http://mormonlady.se/jag-ar-en-manniska/

In english; I am a human being. I am a gardener . I am a gay man and a happy member of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. I was baptized 23th of November 2013 and I know that I have found the right church .

I can be tired sometimes to talk about my homosexuality and unfortunately there have been in my ward anonymous emails sent to my bishop.

I am a human being. I am a gardener.

After my bishop got the anonymous emails we  talked . There is no one in our church that condemns homosexuals. I find it sad that someone has to express opinions anonymously . I have prayed for the person in our church and I do hope he or she can talk some day with a makes contact real name.

I have once been the victim of hate crimes. Have a heterosexual male friend who yesterday received a stab because he defended my faith and my sexuality.

I am a man and gardener. I'm not perfect . Before I became a member of our church, I have arranged flower arrangements in ecumenical HBT-worships where Our Lord has been  present.

You who are reading this ; You are a human being regardless of your sexuality. Maybe you're gardener , probably not , but what you are, love our Father you. In Salt Lake City in 2013 went proud Mormons in Gay Parade under the slogan "Mormon building bridges" Let us build bridges without being anonymous .

ABOUT PRAYERS

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. (St Matthew 6:7)

You have heard them: The repetitions in prayers and some time I can think they are funny. For example; Donuts and biscuits are served and someone is asked to say a prayer then it goes; ”Bless the refreshments to nourish and strengthen our bodies. ”

I do not know how much donuts ”strengthen” my body. I think you can thank our Lord for a great snack and good company.

"Thank thee for all our many blessings." Yeah we do have blessings but this is a passive way to say it. A grateful heart comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. I am grateful today for certain things. Counting my blessings is for me not for my Heavenly Father. If I even have to count them.

Another prayer I have heard; "Bless that we will travel home in safety." I do not have a car and to drive in a safe way is for me obiously. But what do you do with a car? Do you take extra caution when driving? If it's late, do you offer rides to those who might have to walk? Do you pray for the busdriver?

Any prayer from a sincere heart is great and phrases are repeated with good intentions. But friends remember our communication with our Father is so simple. And He has a kind of humour. Just be honest in your prayers. In my next blogpost I will talk more about this.

Gay and mormon

Today I attended the European Forum of LGBT Christian groups mass in the Church of Alppila, Helsinki.

Sermon (lutheran) Bishop Irja Askola stated that ”welcome” is the most beautiful word from our Lord.

In her words:

”I wish you feel welcome, very welcome, in our whole Church and in this Diocese. You carry with you something, which we need in our Church. The wisdom to be sensitive to all those, who have struggled to be accepted. To hear the voices, which have been ignored or recognize the beauty, which has been forbidden to be appreciated.”



Irja Askola



I felt welcomed. I also as a gay mormon feel welcomed in my own ward, by my bishop and by brothers and sisters.

There was a situation when an anonymus person sent me, and our bishop e-mails saying that I am not a worthy member in the church being homosexual. We talked about it with the Bishop and he brought up our churchs view in a fifth sunday lesson. I am thankful for that and I have many times in my heart forgiven the person sending the e-mails.


With love and understanding our Church reaches out to all God´s children, including our homosexual brothers and sisters.

http://mormonsandgays.org/

A great gay mormon blogger is David. If you want to visit his blog then it is: http://gaymormonguy.blogspot.com

Lost and found

One of the most important persons in my life is leaving Finland tomorrow. Elder C. The missionary that baptized me, the missionary that spoked to me the words our Father had told him to speak.

”Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 2:13)

But also a person that became a true friend. A person with whom I could naturally share who I am and what is most important to me. I could tell him my story without being shameful of my truth and he was able to witness how our Savior made me new.

Our final meeting did not however turned out the way it was planned. I met him with his Mission Companions and I was looking forward to continue our discussion where we left the last time I saw him and then say some kind of a proper farewell even though I am very bad at goodbyes.

Then it turned out that Elder C had left his wallet on the bus. Now our meeting became an issue of a practical problem; to get his wallet back. I said a silent prayer and trusted in our Lord that things would work out. And it did finally. A person had found the wallet and called the Missonaries and they decided to meet on Alberga train station in an hour. Since Elder C had his buscard in his wallet I went along on the bus to the station paying his fee with my card.

Then we waited on a crowdy station. Not a place to continue the discussion that I wanted us to continue. Not a good place to find the right words to say a proper farewell. To tell Elder C how much he had meant to me. All I said was: ”You know that you have ment a lot to me, as a missonary and as a person” and he replied ” I know”.

The person that had found Elder C:s wallet turned up to give it back but the clock was ticking. Elder C and his Missonary Companions had their own schedule and they were in a hurry to their next meeting. It turned out that I could take the same train home that they had to take to the church. So I did. When I jumped of the train and they continued their journey Elder C gave me a friendly tap on my shoulder. I wanted to turn around and say something but the tears in my eyes made it impossible for me. I just felt that this was not the way our final meeting was supposed to be. So many things I stil wanted to share. A smile I wanted to give.

But later that day my tears turned into tears of joy as I remembered the last speach that elder C had in our ward. There he brought up the Parable of the Lost Sheep found in Luke 15.

”And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. ” (Luke 15:5-6).

As in the case with elder C:s wallet I once was lost but found and remembering that made me realize the most important thing he had done to me. Sharing the gospel. And i know that by seeing the impact of the gospel in our lives and sharing the good news in everyday evangelistic conversations, friends are invited to brothers and sisters through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Our final meeting turned out to be a good reminder and the words I didn´t tell him was in the end not that important.

Just a note to a friend of mine

Yeah my friend. (I know You are a reader of my blog)  You have taken a step in the right direction. Hugs see you on tuesday.

Johan

Inner Beauty

Sometimes I have seen myself as not beautiful. Years ago. But not anymore. We all have a inner beauty. And the hidden and inner beauty comes also from our friends and beloved. As a mirror of self-improvence. Our Father in heaven also want us to see our inner beauty.

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)