How Living The Righteous Principles from Jesus Christ Blesses You

my dear brothers and sisters Aloha I'm humbled and honored to speak to you today thank you president Kush and to everyone in IGN college for this invitation to speak I have prayed and pondered for guidance on what I should say there have been many things and thoughts that have come to my mind but as I have earnestly sought guidance from the Holy Ghost I received Impressions to think of you who you are where you come from and where you want to go as my mind went in that direction I quickly realize how special you are I quickly realized how blessed you are you are truly an insight to the world you are a standard of goodness to all you are part of the church educational system you are part of the Lord's educational system you are at a school that has the highest form of endorsement it has Celestial accreditation you are part of the only two-year institution of higher education in the Lord's educational system you come from all 50 states in the United States you represent 60 countries from around the world you are 30% International students almost half of you are returned missionaries you are in early part of your adult lives when critical decisions will be made that will affect the rest of your life lives and determine your Eternal Destiny the Book of Mormon tells the story of the Valiant 2000 stripping Warriors you are the Valiant 3,000 students of the of our Heavenly father's choices children from around the world wow what a group with those types of qualifications and divine lineage you have Limitless potential you are here at insign College preparing for life you are studying and working hard to acquire Knowledge and Skills that will prepare you for a better future for you and for your family uh we are all here on Earth preparing for a better life the best life eternal life as I stated earlier I had several thoughts and impressions for topics but it wasn't until our recent General Conference where my thoughts became Crystal Clear of what I wanted to share with you today like every general conference this past conference was simply amazing we are so blessed to live in a time when President Russell M Nelson is the prophet of God I loved all the talks there are many Landmark talks the Lord's church is a global church 20 new temples announced during a global pandemic wow but I have based my remarks on Elder bednar's talk on righteous principles Elder bednard taught a gospel principle is a doctrinally based guideline for the righteous exercise of moral agency principles derived from broader gospel truth and provide Direction and standards as we press forward on the Covenant path I would like to share with you three righteous principles that have blessed my life three principles that have kept me grounded in a world of Ever Changing moral values three principles that have kept me steadfast in the storms of life three principles that have kept me and my family safe from the cunning of the adversary principle number one always put the Lord first if the Lord is always first everything always works out everything falls into place it doesn't mean it's going to be easy or there won't any be won't be any tough times it may not work out the way you want or in the timing that you want but it always works out and ultimately in the best possible way when you put the Lord first everything always works out for the best in third Nephi 1333 we read but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you let me share a story of putting the Lord first I'm from laia Hawaii it is a small town on the North Shore of aahu the majority of the uh people of this community are members of the Church of Jesus Christ CH of lday saints when the church first bought the property it was an undeveloped area of land and nothing really to sustain a community of people many people wondered why anyone would buy property on this side of the island the priority in purchasing this land was to build a temple after the temple was built the church built the church College of Hawaii now known as BYU Hawaii next the church built the Polynesia Cultural Center the PCC as it is also known was built to provide jobs for college students and to preserve their cultural Traditions when it was first built critics scoffed and said that it would never survive or be successful due it due to its distance from Wy ke and all the major hotels the Polynesia culture center today is the number one tourist attraction in the entire state of Hawaii La is now a beautiful thriving little town with a temple a university the Polynesia culture center other restaurants a beautiful Marriott Hotel the busiest supermarket in Hawaii and all of this located on now Prime real estate that was once considered undesirable The Logical thought process would probably have been to build the poia culture center first so people would have jobs and therefore be able to provide for the temporal needs or maybe it would have been to build a college first so people could get an education and maybe the university could be a source of jobs for the people in the community I bear you my testimony that everything worked out for the best in this community and his people because they put the Lord first and built a temple first if there was any other order things would not have worked out as you are starting your lives don't let the cares of the world or the demands of life change your Eternal priorities and perspectives always seek the things of God first always have your covenants and spiritual goals first president ER ezrath Benson said when we put God first all other things fall into the proper place or drop out of our lives our love of the Lord will govern the claims of our affection the demands of our time the interests we pursue and the or order of our priorities it doesn't mean that you can't work hard for your education or your career it doesn't mean that you can't be financially successful but temporal or materialistic possessions or accomplishments can never be first on your priority list no matter the stresses of life no matter the Temptations of life and no matter the trials of life always keep the Lord first in the priorities of Life of things that matter most the apostles are great examples of putting the Lord first all of them are well educated all of them are very successful in their chosen professions or careers their career bios are very impressive but more impressive and more powerful are their testimonies in the lives that they live as Servants of the Lord their love of the Lord and submitting to his will are the top of their priorities principle number two pay your tithing in the Old Testament we we read bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in my house and prove me now herewith sayith the Lord of hosts if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it and I will rebuke the devour for your sakes and and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground neither shall your Vine cast her fruit before the time in the field sayith the Lord of hosts maybe as a young college student your finances may be may be uh may have some limits and you might think the Lord understands I need this money so you don't pay your tithing yes the Lord understands and he is merciful and he sees and knows all things but he won't be able to open up the windows of Heaven for you and pour out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it if you don't pay your tithing he won't be able to rebuke the devour for your sake and protect your fruits if you don't pay your tithing when you get married and things might get a little tight financially you might be tempted to pay your other bills over paying your tithing my dear brothers and sisters prove the Lord herewith invest in the Lord your compound interest of blessings that you will receive will not be room enough to receive it when you invest in the Lord there is always a return on your Investments he always fulfill his promises and his part of covenants for my wife and I there were several times as a young married couple when it looked like we wouldn't be able to meet our essential Financial Obligations but we always Faithfully paid our tithing and things always worked out if you start start to become financially secure in your life and have an abundance of surplus of financially remember who opened the windows of Heaven for you don't forget him all that we have all that he has blessed us with in the end is all his he doesn't need the money he has all the power and worlds without ends he asks all he asks is for 10% back of what he in reality gave us this is to help us build his kingdom and accomplish his his works when we pay tithing we are actually paying ourselves because the Lord is really blessing us the blessings of tithing are not all temporal in fact most of them most of the blessings are spiritual tithing is really a principle of Faith principle number three honor the Sabbath day in Doctrine and Covenants we read and that thou May more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world that thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon the my holy day for verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors and to pay thy devotions unto the most high I have been a college football coach for 32 years college football is an extremely competitive and ruthless profession Sundays are the most important day in college football in your Weekly game preparation you review the previous game and then you start your game plan preparation for your next opponent my sign to the Lord as president Nelson taught a couple of years ago is that I will love and honor him by honoring the Sabbath day since I became a h football coach 14 years ago and became in charge of my making my own schedule I have not worked on Sundays renewing my covenants with the Lord every Sunday by partaking the sacrament with my family is the best way that I know to prepare myself to be my best husband father State president coach citizen I Bear My Testimony that many of the blessings that my family and I have received are a direct result of honoring the Sabbath day I once spoke at a national coaching convention and I shared that my staff does not work on Sundays and I received so many emails and so many calls asking how we've been so successful over the years when we don't work on Sundays I know that the Lord will bless you and your family if you honor him by honoring the Sabbath day don't let the precious of school the demands of your career or your profession professional life manipulate you into not honoring the Sabbath now if your employer requires you to work on Sundays and there's no way of getting around it the Lord understands your situation because he is all knowing and he knows your heart I promise you that he will eventually work things out where you will no longer be in that situation I bear you my testimony that insign college was established by Divine Design president Kush was called by God to lead this great institution the Lord has given us righteous principles to govern and bless our Liv lives I pray that you will use righteous principles in your daily decisions to keep you on the Covenant path in the name of Jesus Christ amen thank you for joining us for devotional here at enzy college today we encourage you to share your thoughts and comments and also to share this link with someone who might benefit from the message here at enzine College we believe that God can help us grow both spiritually and professionally and we offer programs like accounting social media marketing Medical assisting and many more if you would like to learn more about the programs we offer scan the QR code on the screen or click in the link down below and make sure to like And subscribe and join us next time for devotional