Self-Dominion

Day forty-six

I had some interesting experiences yesterday while trying to deal with the issues that had come up.  It boiled down to: Don't worry so much about the can't do's, and focus on the can do's.  That is my goal today, the can do's!  My prayer began with gratitude for the direction I had been given and the change in perspective. I am finding that I need the change of perspective more and more in my life. Learning to see things through spiritual eyes is hard. To help me with this I asked that the Lord would bless me with the ability to recognize those things that I can do to help a situation and to let go of the things I can't. 

After prayer I got back into the scriptures in Moses Chapter 2 and the account of the Creation.

My favorite part of this chapter is in Moses 2:28 where man was given dominion.  I was excited to find a quote from Elder Sterling W. Sill that seems to agree with my thoughts on this subject:

"One of the most inspiring messages in all sacred scripture is the story of the sixth day of creation when God made man in his own image.  He also endowed him with a set of his own attributes.  Then, as the very climax of creation, God gave man dominion over everything upon the earth, including himself.  The dictionary says that 'dominion' means control or the power to govern.  The most important part of the dominion given to man was self-dominion." (in Conference Report, Oct. 1963, 77-878)

I love that the Lord has so much faith in us that he allows us to have 'self-dominion'.  He believes in us, he knows that we can learn to control ourselves and to govern ourselves in a way that leads to self-mastery.  So why is it so important to have self-dominion?

In 3 Nephi 27:27 Jesus Christ tells us what type of person we should be:

"Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

Jesus was the perfect example of someone who had self-control and was able to successfully self-govern.  He used his gift of self-dominion to make the choices that allowed him to fulfill his calling of being our Savior.  Let me point that out again, he made choices. If we are to be like him we must have the opportunity to make choices also.  Self-dominion includes agency and we are taught that agency is an eternal principle.  Therefore, agency is not taken away from us, but is given to us to help us become more Christ-like.  Self-dominion allows us to become more like God.

What happens if we don't govern ourselves well?

One of my favorite scriptures regarding this is in Proverbs 25 verse 28: "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls."  What a great visual this verse brings to mind, I picture a city filled with chaos and forever being torn down because there is no order. The same goes for us, if we cannot learn to rule ourselves then we are filled with chaos and contradiction and the world will use us up and tear us down.

There have been times in my life where I have not governed myself very well and I lacked in the self-control department and I felt like the broken down city. My life was chaos and the world took advantage of it.  Although this was only for a short period of time, it is not something I wish to experience again.

Luckily, I was able to use my agency to overcome the situation and once again be in control. I learned to appreciate the gift of self-dominion and the blessings that come with it.  It is hard to be in control of oneself all the time, but to get it back after you loose it, is even harder.  (Just think about the last time you lost control and got angry with someone, it is hard to get over those feelings and to make the relationship right again.)

This is a topic near to my heart, it has affected the way I live my life, the way I parent, how interact with others, how I view mistakes, and much more.  I truly have a testimony of the power of self-dominion and I am grateful for the opportunity to share it.