Hey there everybody welcome out to another episode of Redeemed Through His Blood. Scott and DavidDurfey here as always. How's it going Dave? Great Scott. Great time of the year huh? Yeah, good time of the year. We're getting towards the end of summer. Fall's rolling in. Football's in the air. Beautiful. You know, I don't know exactly when we'll publish this, but it's September when we're doing it and probably September when you publish it. Yeah, it'll come out actually next week.
And this is such a sacred month for me because it's the month that Joseph Smith sees Moroni. Joseph Smith gets the plates. I don't know where people are going to be when they're, wherever they are on the 21st and 22nd, the Fall Equinox, which by the way is really significant. A lot of prophecies connected with Joseph Smith receiving the visit of an angel and receiving the gold plates and the new and everlasting covenant being restored through the Book of Mormon.
Anyway, Scott I love this time of the year. Yeah. I think we'll, we'll maybe think about those events and, and ponder them the night of September 21st, early in the morning of September 22nd. It was probably just around midnight or thereafter that Joe that I think Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith and I think when he took him to get the plates and the Hill, Kamora, he never went. He came shortly after midnight that they, they took the plates out of the Hill, Kamora.
So I'm, I love this time of year for that reason, but also for lots of other reasons, yeah, let alone it being football season. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. That's always a great time of year for our family. I know that. So it's true for us too. We were, I was just with some family members down Lake Powell this past week and that was beautiful down there this time of year. The water's warm and it's, it's just a beautiful time of year to be there.
Yesterday I drove down to Richfield, which is in center center, central Utah to pick up a half a cow, half a beef. Cool. Yeah. And I could, I had my windows down. It was a little crisp. The air coming back. There was fresh cut hay, probably fourth cut, fourth crop hay laying in the field. Yeah. Man, that took, took me back to some, just some wonderful memories of my childhood. You did this through Diane, Karen, Karen. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. Well, yeah, it was amazing.
So, well listen, Dave, a couple of past weeks, I think the last two, maybe three, we've talked about keys to receiving personal revelation and today we'll continue in that vein. Last week we had some great conversations, some opportunity to fill the spirit, to invite the spirit into our lives, to put on the atonement of Jesus Christ through certain instruments of grace.
And you know, today we're going to continue in that vein, but you know, I just, I've been acutely aware of the effects of the fall of Adam and Eve in my life this past week. We're just sinners helping sinners. Yeah. That's something, you know, and I, and I haven't let it bug me too much. We all feel that every day. I know. Yeah. You know, and some of it has to do with physical, you know, I've got this little, sure, thing, this little arthritis thing going on.
I got our, have RA and sometimes I have flares that really trip me up and, and it's been that way this week. And then, you know, just, just, just the effects of the fall of Adam and Eve, you know, family stuff, friends stuff, just all kinds of stuff. But what that does, Dave, is I've been preparing and, and, and, you know, I'll be teaching Institute tonight and doing a thing for our ward. That's kind of a big deal.
A series where we're focusing on very much the same things that we're focusing on here. And maybe, you know, what are your thoughts on this, Dave? I feel like sometimes the closer I get to do, to do what I need to do, it's, I feel like that there are, there's enemy who knows me. For sure. Who knows my weaknesses. Who knows my vulnerabilities. Who knows my areas of chink in the armor. Absolutely. That go full on attack. And I have felt like I've been on full on attack for the last week.
Well, it's true and there's another reason for it, not just because the enemy, the accuser, you know, who knows what you're, you know, he doesn't know what you're thinking, by the way. Right. That's, that power is sovereign to God. God knows all our thoughts. Satan does not. But he does read our body language. Yeah. And he's become pretty good.
He, he, he knows where we're at and, and I, it's true Scott that because of that, he knows our vulnerabilities and he will attack us and especially every chink he knows in our armor. That's where he'll attack. You just have to have on the full armor. And I think sometimes Scott, we don't use enough the one offensive weapon that's given to us in the armor of God. I mean, you can talk about the armor of salvation, the helmet of salvation, the armor of faith, all of the other sort of face.
Anyway, it's not the sort of faith, but this is the, this is the key using the sword of the spirit. It's the sword of the spirit and the sword. I think it's also kind of the word that we have to use in order to fight back. And I think sometimes we don't do that enough.
And it kind of leads into our, our whole discussion on the keys to receiving revelation is that we have to be more in tune with the Holy Ghost and, and focus on that and to use that to be able to do the things that we need to do to get more of the Holy Ghost, personal revelation and the spirit into our lives, which will help offset the attacks that we receive.
But it's also true, Scott, and I'm sure the brethren feel this acutely is that the closer you get to Jesus Christ, the larger your sins and your flaws and your weakness appear. That's a fact. The closer you get, which, which you should take some comfort in, right? When you should think, okay, all right, so I am making some progress here when you're under attack. That way that's what you should say. I am making some progress here or number one, he wouldn't be attacking me in number two.
These things in the past may not have bothered me so much. Maybe I wouldn't have even wanted to fight against them. Maybe I wouldn't have even noticed the, the wrongs and the weakness of the flesh here. So I, you know, I think there's, there's some, some comfort, strength, understanding in when, when we're getting close, things can get really, really tough. It's part of, I think, just, just part of being human and being mortal. But I think it can also be a, be a test.
I mean, Abrahamic tests come to us sometimes when we're, when we're doing the best in our lives to, to, to be able to offer up some of those things that have been so dear to us in our lives and to sacrifice them, to be asked to sacrifice them can be really a test and really expose us, our weaknesses and our vulnerabilities. So but let me ask you a question back.
So what are you doing to overcome the sins of omission, which would help you to get more of the sword of the spirit and revelation in your life, which is what our last podcast, that's where we ended. And, and where we're going today is going to be part of my answer. So I, I've been thinking about this and I've been thinking about in preparation for what we're going to be talking about today.
You know, we've known that we were going to talk about this today since last week when we ended our podcast and said, Hey, this is what we're talking about next week. And so that's been on my mind for a whole week. And first off, this is not unusual. I go through this from time to time.
And I find that, you know, the more that I'm involved in helping others, especially those that are marginalized in alcoholics anonymous or just don't feel like they fit in other areas, it feels like that those are the times when the enemy fights the hardest against me to have me fail so that I'm not effective in helping and in helping myself, you know, helping them, sure, but in helping myself too, right?
And so, you know, what I've done to overcome the sensible mission that have been obviously in my life or in all of our lives when we have these kinds of things that enter in. So I'm coming home from Richfield the other night and I'm listening to a talk show on the radio podcast and it was fine. You know, there was nothing demoralizing. There was nothing negative or anti-spirit about it.
But I got to, I don't know, about to where I 70 and then you go through Cipio about when I got on to I 15, still about 90 miles from home. I pulled over, I got a drink, I filled up with gas, did what I needed to do. And when I got back in my truck, I thought, I need to change my environment. I was sad. I mean, I was sad. I was feeling heavy. I was, you know, I'm a sensitive kind of guy. I even had tears from time.
And so I turned, I have a playlist on my Spotify and it's LDS hymns of instrumental hymns, LDS hymns, and we play it every Sunday morning here in the home. So I listened to that on the way home. And as I did, I had a prayer in my heart, you know, there's something about music. I had an experience on my mission with music. It was my second, my second transfer. I was in the same place, but I had my second companionship. And I was just really struggling with this particular companionship.
I was struggling to feel the spirit. He was struggling to even be on a mission. And it was just difficult, very difficult. And one night I prayed, I just cried out to the side of my bed. I just cried out, please, Heavenly Father, bless me that I can feel your spirit so that I can even want to just stay here, honestly, you know. And I put on some church approved music, mission approved music as I was going to bed.
And as I did, Dave, I felt this light come into my soul, you know, it wasn't necessarily a physical light. Maybe it was, but I didn't, that's not my, I'm not claiming that, but I felt this light come into my soul that just lifted me. And that was one of the defining moments of my life was that night in that music, in prayer, I could, it was a Mormon Tabernacle Choir, maybe something like that. I don't even remember, but I felt the presence of the spirit.
Well, driving home the other day from Richfield, I had a similar experience, maybe not to the degree of intensity that I had in Seattle, Washington, or Renton, Washington in 1982. But it was of that same, and I was just so grateful. And I remembered, and I had, it came to me cognitively, I bowed my head and said, thank you. That's awesome. Yeah. And since that time, you know, and moving into it, you know, I wasn't totally oblivious. I was aware of where I was. I was aware of what was happening.
It wasn't consuming me. Well, listen, you know, number one, for our listeners' sake. Yeah. I just got to point this out. Number one, how awesome was it that you were even aware of it? Yeah. That's my point. Because so many, so many of us are not even aware of it. We just are going with the flow and we'll get on a downer and Satan will be on the attack. And we won't even recognize it.
I mean, we know we're down, but we don't even seem to be mindful enough to think about why or what can I do or how can I get out of this or how can I change this. We just go with it.
And that's that's the key to I think step number five in receiving revelation is to be intentional in how we live, to be more intentional and mindful and diligent in in in creating an environment by overcoming the sins of omission, where we're doing the things that we should be doing, which will keep us from giving into the enemy and doing things that we shouldn't be doing. That's the key to step to.
Yeah. Well, and it's not just the things that we should be doing, but having our heart and our mind follow. Yeah. Right. I mean, doing them for the right reason. Yeah. Have doing them for the right, which goes back to the earlier keys that we've talked about right. Our motives. That's how we access those. They're all connected. These are all connected.
Sure. Yeah. Yeah. I had an experience years ago, Scott, where, you know, I learned the power of inspired art, and I know inspired music goes along with this as part of it, but inspired art and inspired music are really important components in what we have chosen to call instruments of grace.
You know, if, if we would be more intentional about what we listen to, about what we take into our ears, what we take into our eyes, what we choose to look at, what we choose to listen to, man, it really makes a difference in what's in our minds and what's in our hearts. And years ago, I was in a, I was under attack and I was going through a real trial in my life. I think probably the worst time in my life.
And I was living in Minnesota at the time and it was, it was just really a sad, difficult, depressing time. And I had a dream one night, one of the three dreams given to me in my lifetime that I know were from the Lord and I consider them to be gifts from the Holy Ghost. And in this dream, President Hinckley showed up at my house and his security guard was with him.
He wanted to see, he knocked on the door and he said, I, I just want to come in if I can and I just want to have you give me a tour of your house. And he wanted to see every room. We went into every room, the living room, the kitchen, the family room, every bedroom. We went downstairs, we even, we even looked in the storage room. He went through every room of my house and he didn't say a word.
And we walked up stairs to go till he walked upstairs to leave and I'm, I'm following him out the door and we get on the porch and he turns around at me, looks at me and he wags that finger. I don't know if you remember General Conference sometimes when he'd really get going, he'd start wagging his index finger. Remember? Oh yeah. I don't, I don't want to derail you. Don't forget where you're at. But when he did that, it reminded me of grandpa. Yeah. Yeah, it did me too.
Yeah. Yeah. My dad would do that. Yeah. And even had a similar look. So anyway, continue. Yeah. And voice. Anyway, he, he started pointing his finger or wagging his finger at me and he said, David, David, change the pictures. Well, I was devastated. Change the pictures. I, I, anyway, then the dream, there was another part to this dream, which I won't, I don't need to share with everybody, which was really significant and really special to me.
But when I woke up, when I woke up that next morning, I turned to Chris and I said, Chris, do we have any bad pictures in our house? Bad pictures. Do we have one? What? Chris, I, I, I had a dream and I told her about this dream. I said, I had a dream and I told her about the dream and I said, he said to change the pictures and she said, well, you know, there may be a few pictures that we need to change. That's, that's true.
We need to get the savior in the temple, more in the, in our children's rooms and on our walls. That's true. But she said, I, David, and she was going through the trial with me. She said, we just have to change how we see it. We have to change our perspective. But one of the lessons I've taken from that, Scott, is that pictures help us to change our perspective. Yeah. What we listen to, what we choose to see can change our perspective and inspired art can really do that for us.
I don't know what some of your favorite pictures are of the savior, but I have several of them in my office, in fact, in my office, I think every picture I have on the wall, I mean, this dream affected me deeply and every picture I have on the wall of my office, which is one, two, three, four, and one on my, on my bookcase, a big picture is of the savior in different parts of his mission.
I guess the one that gets me the most is, is the one where the stone is that was rolled away from his, his sepulcher and grave and him standing in front of it is the one that inspires me always the most. And sometimes I'll just put my feet up on the desk and stare at that picture. That's what it's all about, Scott. And my mind is right again. The world is right again. Jesus Christ arose from the grave. Jesus Christ is alive.
Jesus Christ is in control and I'll be resurrected and my family will be resurrected. And I mean, really, if you just focus on a picture like that for a while, it can, it can completely change your perspective and perspective can sometimes be everything. So I, I hope our listeners will be intentional about if they need to change the pictures for sure change what you choose to focus on. If we would do that, even when we're at under attack, the attack would not maybe be so heavy.
Yeah. This is what creates the environment that we're living in. Yeah. The environment is really critical. Yeah. And so we think about art in all of its forms, including music. And how can that really affect our relationship with the spirit? You know, I, I know that I have memories, Dave, when I was a little boy going to church and this is in your church, the old seventh ward building, you know, there was a mural painted up on a high to maybe a five or six year old kid.
It seemed like it was in the sky, but it was towards the top of the chapel of Jesus and the sheep. I remember that and it seemed inevitably and it probably happened three times and it was indelibly etched upon my heart and my mind. It probably didn't happen every time I came there, which was semi frequently. But when I did, it seemed like inevitably during the prelude or at some point I would be the, the, the hymn would come on. The Lord is my shepherd.
Yeah. And, and I had that mural, you know, the art and the music and Dave, I don't remember anything potentially that was said at your missionary farewell or when Uncle Dennis was made to Bishop or when Grandpa this or, or, you know, and we attended quite frequently.
I don't really, I don't remember any literally anything that was ever said, but I will never forget the way I felt even as a little boy sitting in those pews and hearing the Lord is my shepherd, the beautiful prelude music and then seeing the art of the mural painted. We don't do that anymore in chapels, but that was beautiful for me. And that was one of the beginning earliest memories of spiritual experiences in my life.
Well, that's, that's what it provides is a spiritual experience, a strengthening experience. Yeah. And you bring up my brother Dennis, you know, he shared with me a really sacred experience, which he had years ago and, and he's been gone now for a number of years and we miss him terribly.
Yeah. But when he was struggling the last few years of his life, I'd go over and spend Monday afternoons with him because I just felt he was lonely and we would talk gospel and, and one day he, he took me in his living room and he showed me the picture above his fireplace and he told me the story that he, there was one point in time in his life when he was trying to survive in his business and he was really struggling to be able to pay his bills
to meet all of the demands he was working from 4am till 6pm and, and he still felt like he was sinking that he was losing ground and he was even considering bankruptcy and what that would mean to not just him and his family, but to my dad. My dad had invested so much into this business and the name of Durfee Tri Cleaners and oh man, all, all of this name was on the business, you know, and Dennis was really just, he was going under, he was really struggling and he one night couldn't sleep.
There had been lots of sleepless nights. He told me and he one night went into his living room and he felt that fell down on the floor and prayed and he looked up, felt impressed to look up at, at this picture hanging above the, his fireplace and the mantle and there's this picture of the savior reaching down to Peter sinking in the water. Remember that. Can you visualize that picture? Yeah, I have a rendition of that in Deb's office upstairs.
And Peter is starting to sink in the saviors reaching down to him and oh man for Dennis now that had a profound spiritual strengthening and life changing really experience for him and he knew he knew that that there was the answer to his prayer and that the savior was going to pull him out and the savior was going to help him to, to make it into the boat and to walk and to, to be able to rise above it and he did, he did it.
So I, I hope our listeners will take time to look at inspired art and that they will take time, be intentional in listening to inspired music. It's so amazing what we can do with inspired music now because you can choose, there's no excuse not to have a sacred music list, right? A Sunday music list, whatever you want to call it. I just call it sacred music on my phone and I, I do Apple music and I, I have a, I just put that on on Sunday.
In fact, Scott, there's a certain music that I would listen to every Sunday morning when I was giving patriarchal blessings and I, every time I walked in my office early Sunday morning, I would start by starting that the music, I would follow my knees and pray while the music was going. Because the music actually lifted my spirit and I actually felt like my prayers to some extent were being carried to God on the sounds and tones of this music.
I mean, I know that sounds crazy, but, but I, it was really sacred for me and it would bring the spirit immediately into my life and it would help me to even make my prayers more meaningful. I know that the inspired music and inspired art can be one of those things that can help us to receive the Holy Ghost in our life and to bring revelation into our lives. We were a couple of years ago in Jerusalem with family and others and at one point, Dave, we near Capernaum is Magdala, right?
From Mary of Magdala. Yeah, they're just, they're both on the sea of Galilee and around the corner from each other. Exactly. Magdala being a fishing port, you know, more, more inclined to that at least in those days, both Capernaum. They, there was a ruins of an ancient church there. Have they rebuilt that? No, it hasn't been rebuilt, but it's where he gave the sermon of the bread of life. Yeah, actually that has been rebuilt and I did go into that.
Yeah. Yeah. But he, when we went to Magdala, we go into this church and we go to the, it's a beautiful church, you know, it has where the preacher would stand, it depicts a boat, you know, much like the one that Peter would have descended from, you know, in the, in the painting. I saw this.
You're just talking about, well, if you go down in the middle of it, there's kind of a fountain of water and we sang a hymn there that was a really moving experience, you know, the music and we could feel and I don't remember the hymn. I wish I could because it was that moving. But as we descended down the stairs into another lower level, there's this mural and it's pretty big.
My estimation and I could be way off as it's 10 to 8 to 10 feet high and it's kind of on a curve, you know, I can't describe it exactly, but then 8 to 10 feet high and then maybe from end to end 15 feet, 20 feet, something like that. And I'm going to try to describe it. I'll put a link to the website here. I don't, I don't feel comfortable in posting the painting here because I don't have permission to do it, but I'll post a link where those who are interested to see it can go see it.
But what I'm seeing here is I'm looking at this, in fact, Deb and I loved it so much, we purchased a copy of this to hang in our front, our family room upstairs, our main room. But what it shows is just feet, feet and one hand. It's all feet and it's, it's, it doesn't take long for the viewer to determine or to decipher that the feet that are pointed directly at you are the feet of the Savior.
And those around the feet that are depicted around those feet, and you know, you see the robes and a staff and the, the Levite or the Jewish tassels and all those things and, and a staff. And then through it, you see a, and they appear to be all men's feet. I mean, that's the way that it's, I think, depicted intentionally. And then through the press or through this crowd, you see a little withered hand reaching through.
And with this hand, you can just buried lightly see a virtue or what one would consider to paint. How would you paint a virtue? Because this is the story when Jesus is in the press and he stops and he says, who touched me? And they say, what do you mean who touched you? You're around a thousand, hundreds of people here. Everybody's touching you. And he says, no, I felt a virtue leave me. And this is the picture of the woman with the issue of blood through her faith being healed.
And Dave, when I, when I come home from a long week at work or, you know, from the stresses or I enter, Deb enters through the garage because she parks in the garage. Our garage isn't big enough for my car to fit too. So I park in the driveway and come through the front door. When I come through the front door, this is what I see every time before I come into the house, I see this picture, this painting. And if I'm intentional about it, I can let that affect my entering into my home.
And, and I have to tell you that this painting has changed for me the feeling of our home. That's awesome. Yeah. Well, you have to be intentional and we have to be mindful. You got to be really mindful and you have to, you have to take a minute and you have to pause and be still. And I promise that if people will use inspired art that they can feel the spirit of the Lord by doing those things and the same with inspired music. Wow. We should, I used to do this with my students at Institute.
I used to say, I'm going to send around a paper. I want you to put down your favorite sacred song that you have on your playlist. And if you don't have a sacred playlist, I want you to create one using these songs. And are my students love doing that? They love to get new inspired music by sharing it with one another. So that's, that's an important invitation.
I hope our listeners will examine, take some sort of an assessment of pitchers in their, in their room to make this, the pitchers of their home more sacred and to make the music that they listen to and other things they listen to or watch more sacred in their home. It will increase the spirit of their home and increase the level of their revelation. Environments importance.
Let's talk about, this is still a key number five, but one of the instruments of grace, instruments of the spirit, instruments of revelation is the, what, what we do all the time in church, which is participate in ordinances and covenants. Covenants are definitely one of the instruments of grace and revelation that the Lord has given us.
And we've talked about that before I know, but my experience with Brother Matthew's in Minnesota when he was staying in our home, Brother Matthew's who wrote the Bible dictionary, who stated, or who I actually said, Brother Matthew's, can I share this with you? I have come to the conclusion that whenever we participate in any ordinance of the gospel, either as a giver or a receiver, the Atonement of Jesus Christ is applied in our life.
Well, he loved that except he said, I think you should add the word faithfully or worthily whenever you faithfully participate in any ordinance of the gospel. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is applied in your life, which I loved.
I know that's true Scott and when the Atonement of Jesus Christ is applied in our life, it's administered into our lives through the gift of the Holy Ghost and we receive revelation and that revelation can be really personal in regards to the most important revelation we can receive, I believe is that our sins have been forgiven where we stand with the Lord are standing. All of that can be enhanced as we participate in the ordinances and covenants of the gospel.
So I know that the Lord has said that in the ordinances thereof, speaking of the temple, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest and the power of godliness among other things is the Atonement of Jesus Christ and personal revelation.
So of all the things and I know President Nelson has made that promise to us over and over again that revelation will increase and the power to access the Atonement of Jesus Christ will increase in our lives as we participate in the ordinances of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. So we can't overstate how important ordinances and covenants are as an instrument of grace and receiving revelation in the spirit in our life. I just want to read from the doctrine and covenants.
So this is doctrine and covenants 84-20, therefore in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And so Dave, when you talk about the power of godliness, this is the power to solve all of our problems. I believe that. This is the power to assist us in our spiritual struggles, our physical struggles, our mental and emotional struggles. This is the power that makes all of that available to us. Personal revelation, atonement of Jesus Christ, power of the priesthood.
There's just so many gifts and powers that are included in that. And without the ordinances, 21, and without the ordinances thereof and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh, for without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live. Well, so we need to be using the ordinances thereof, speaking of the temple, to be able to seek and receive more personal revelation.
Let's unpack that for just a second, because in the beginning of this podcast a few years ago when you and I decided that we had a message that we felt was important and we felt Heavenly Father inspired us and pushing us to deliver this, well, all of this is to help us to gain a relationship with Him and all of deity so that we can have what He wants us to have, which is everything that He has. And specifically for me today is His peace, right, and His joy and His comfort.
All fruits of the Spirit. All fruits of the Spirit, all spiritual gifts. And so for me, as I want to have those in my life, He's given those to me to offset the effects of the fall, right? And the effects of the fall, I started the podcast today stating, hey, I felt the effects of the fall. And so if I'm feeling the, and we all do, we all feel the effects of the fall on a daily basis. That's just part also of the plan. That's nothing for us to be ashamed of.
It's nothing for us to beat ourselves up over. We shouldn't use that as an indictment against ourselves, but we all will feel the effects of the fall on a pretty regular basis. So to offset the effects of the fall, I want the Spirit in my life. And in order to have that Spirit in my life, I just mentioned an experience that I had coming home from Richfield. I turn on some music, I invite the Spirit into my life.
Nothing David, nothing in this mortal realm invites the Spirit into our lives quite like participating in ordinances. Amen. I mean, I, I don't know how I can add anything to that Scott, because I believe that's true. And if people would just whatever you're going through, sometimes they feel like they, they don't feel quote, they don't feel like going to church. They don't feel worthy. They don't feel anyway.
That's just really sad to me because man, going and participating in the ordinances of the sacrament to take in that little piece of bread and to drink the water representing the blood of Jesus Christ. I mean, he took Jesus Christ. How many times Scott did he do that with his disciples on both continents and Institute the sacred emblems of the sacrament? I recently last week married a couple and performed officiated officiated the ordinance of ceiling. And wow, I felt really impressed.
And this is a really special couple. High school, sweethearts, both return missionaries. And I really felt impressed to tell them that the sacrament participating in the ordinance of the sacrament would be the key to their successful marriage because every time they particular sacrament, they were renewing the ordinance and covenant of ceiling that they were entering into that day.
And it every time we particular sacrament, we are not just renewing our baptismal covenants, but all covenants that we have made with God and that renewing those covenants, the focus, the center, the power is the atonement of Jesus Christ that it is through his flesh and his blood, his atoning infinite sacrifice that we can be able to receive all of the promises of the covenant in our life. I know that's true.
I encourage them that from now on that when you I told them that when you particular sacrament, you should think about this ceiling room. You should think about this day. You should think about what you promised to each other in the ordinance and what you promised to God. And that won't take much time to do that every Sunday when you particular sacrament. But that's part of what you're doing when you for take the sacrament.
I think it would be really powerful for all of us to do that that we that we reflect upon our baptismal covenants and all the ordinances and covenants of salvation that we've entered into when we partake of the little piece of bread and little piece of water weekly. And that's that's why that's why I just don't want to ever miss a week of partaking of the sacrament and hope our listeners feel the same way.
And I know that it will increase their ability to receive power of God, strengthen their personal relationship with Him and receive revelation and spirit in their life. This past Sunday, I had a very personal experience during the sacrament and it was life changing. You know, I love to have those life changing experiences as frequently as I possibly can because my life needs constant changing. And I was so grateful for that.
For some reason, it felt ultra reverent to me, it felt like there was just an abundance of the spirit there. And I don't think that, you know, the building hadn't changed. I don't think the people were different that were coming and going or anything like that. But I had because I challenge our Institute kids every Sunday or every Wednesday. I want to talk about how was your sacrament experience. And if we don't talk about it, I want you to at least reflect on it.
What was your sacrament experience like this week and has it enhanced your week? Because we're midweek on Wednesday, you know. And so it's a perfect time for us to review and take a personal potential interview or inventory rather on where am I in terms with my relationship with my sacrament covenants or the covenants that I have renewed this past week.
And I think that this is the thing that has occurred to me and I've done a lot of thinking about this, a lot of meditation on the sacrament and the ordinances thereof, all of that. And I think to me, it occurs to me that when we go to the temple, we set ourselves apart. We walk into the temple, we put our phone in the locker or leave it in the car or we dress a certain way and we go through this ritualistic preparation to do that.
And all of that prepares our heart and our mind for what we are about to receive. And that aids us a great deal. In my view, it aids us a great deal in aligning our thoughts and our minds with what it is that we're about to do when we participate in the ordinances in the temple, for example. When I go to church, you know, and this in past days, you know, and fighting kids to get there on time. I'm stressed about did I get this assignment done for my calling on time? Is my lesson prepared?
Am I going to need to sit during the sacrament and read through my lesson in preparation because I haven't prepared properly? And, you know, it occurs to me that it can be a very, it can become, and this is not by way of accusation, it's by way of self-admission and confession, but it can become just a casual experience if unless we are again, and then we come back to that word, right, intentional about the way we approach the sacrament.
I see the sacrament as the single most important thing that I do on a regular basis. Yeah, I would agree. The single most important thing I do on a regular basis. Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
And the reason I see that is because if I really want access to the Spirit, if I really want to be overcome the effects of the fall of Adam and Eve or the fall of Scott Durfey in my own life, then the sacrament is the participation of me, my participation rather, of taking the sacrament and allowing that spiritual communion to take place. It affects me.
Well, what do you think is the connection between you, the trials that you started this podcast with saying how you've been really attacked and then having that experience on Sunday? How do you think those are connected? Oh, they are so, so, so think about this. When I go to the temple, the first thing I learn about is the fall.
One of the first things I learn about is the fall and how it's impossible for me, in and of myself, to provide for me the things that I need in this life and in eternity to find peace and happiness at any level. And so that's, you know, that was me. Then I come to the sacrament table and I come with an attitude of worship and I come with a heart pleading to have his spirit consume me so that I can fill the love of the Lord instead of the trials of the world for me.
That participation in the sacrament is the source of change or of keeping my boat right throughout the week. Yeah. As we end this today, Scott, I just want to read the fifth key to receiving personal revelation one more time, repent of the sins of omission. That's the key. Be intentional and diligent in using the instruments of grace such as the scriptures, prayer, sacred art and music, ordinances and covenants, fasting, magnifying callings, ministering and rendering service.
By small simple things, great things come to pass. And then I conclude that key by just saying develop a daily plan of priorities. You know, that's that's just the way we need to be more intentional and diligent is I think by by really thinking about our day and by really small simple things. They don't have to be big and they don't have to take a long time out of our day. But these small simple things, small simple choices about what am I going to listen to right now?
You know, I recently developed a habit, a new habit of doing such a simple thing. And that's putting a conference talk on my phone when I lay in bed to go to sleep. And I've been now going to sleep for weeks listening to the voice and the words of prophets. And I think that's a small simple thing that has made a great change in my life. I have a dear friend who was diagnosed with with clinical chemical depression.
And he you know, he did everything the medical profession and therapists and others, the other things that that were great help to him. But he just told me personally that he thought the thing that helped him the very most was that every morning when he would go get ready for the his day, he would listen to conference talks when he showered shaved. He would be listening to general conference. That's a small simple thing that can make such a difference.
It's an intentional diligent act of faith that I believe the Lord will answer with a extra gift or endowment of the spirit in our lives. And he told me that that helped him get through his day. He thought as much or more than anything else he did. So I there just those are so many things that God has given us to help us to. Be able to have a relationship and receive communication from him and to see his hand more in our lives.
So let's let's just be mindful and assess what am I not doing that I should be doing or what am I not doing that I could be doing to in order to draw closer to our Heavenly Father and receive the spirit and strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ in our lives. If we would just use this fifth key, I know that we would be able to receive more personal revelation. Yeah, I'm going to I'm going to send out an invitation for you to share those with us.
I know that there's a lot of you who are having those experiences. There are things that you like that maybe if you have a minute, just drop us a line. He redeems us at gmail.com. Just drop us a line. Maybe share your experiences around your own instruments of grace that are alive in your lives. Thanks for being with us, everybody. Thanks, Dave. Appreciate you being here today and we look forward to being with everybody again next week. And until then, be well.