Add-ons For a Solid Foundation

Elder Gary Wood delivered a message at Holden Chapel yesterday that really got me thinking about how our minds work. He brought us to 2Peter to remind us to check our foundation and then proceed into the world.

My thoughts went to how we process making changes in our lives. Say for instance to eating behaviors; we usually think about the things we need to stop doing and what we need to take away from our lives. For example, stop eating junk food and get rid of bad habits like inactivity. This passage in Peter directs our thinking in the opposite direction. Add to our faith these things and in this order. If we add these qualities in increasing measure they will keep us brom being ineffective and unproductive.

I've added definitions for more clarity.

• Faith - Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
  2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief, trust
• Goodness - moral excellence or admirableness
• Knowledge - The state or fact of knowing.
  2. Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study; learning
• Self-control - Ability to control of one's emotions, desires, or actions by one's own will
• Perseverance - Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.
• Godliness - Having great reverence for God; pious. 2. Divine.
• Brotherly kindness - (I had to break this one into two parts) A. brotherly - like or characteristic of or befitting a brother; "brotherly feelings"; "close fraternal ties" B. Kindness - Of a friendly, generous, or warm-hearted nature. 2. Showing sympathy or understanding; charitable: a kind word. 3. Humane; considerate: kind to animals.
  4. Forbearing; tolerant: Our neighbor was very kind about the window we broke. 5. Generous; liberal: kind words of praise. 6. Agreeable; beneficial: a dry climate kind to asthmatics.
• Love - A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness. 2. An intense emotional attachment

These terms leave us with a lot to think about. So where do we start? How could we possibly achieve all of those attributes? 2 Peter helps us to understand the order of priorities to be considered and what the implication to our lives is if we choose not to add to our faith.

Scripture for today: 2 Peter 1:3-14
3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

My Prayer for today:
Help us Father, to add to our faith to build a solid foundation in you. If we live our lives with confident belief in the truth and moral excellence, continually learning with the ability to control ourselves, being steadfast, reverant, warm hearted with an intense emotional attachment to God we will not fall.