Blessings of Spiritual Rebirth

          I don't pretend to be an expert on identifying when a person has officially dedicated their all to the Lord.  I personally believe that it is most often a single decision followed by innumerable acts of self-sacrifice.  For some people it may be a gradual event that occurs over years or decades, and for others the choice might need to be made and reaffirmed multiple times until it truly sets in.

          Regardless of how the specifics play out, there are certain blessings that seem to come along naturally with increased consecration.  Elder Richard G. Scott said, "Spirituality yields two fruits. The first is inspiration to know what to do. The second

is power, or the capacity to do it."

          Those who consecrate themselves to God tend to receive more specific and frequent inspiration from the Spirit.  Often this inspiration will lead them to be miracles in other people's lives.  God will trust them more often to fill pivotal roles at critical moments in friends' and strangers' personal plans of salvation.  Rather than place artificial divisions in their lives, they see every issue as an inherently spiritual issue, even those that seem temporal.  They seek and receive guidance about many facets of their lives, but wisely balance that guidance against their own agency so that their decisions are both their own and the Lord's.

          They also have an increased capacity to make difficult decisions and sacrifices.  They do absolutely crazy things because the Lord asks them to, even when they never know all the reasons why.  They act in confidence, trusting that God will inspire the decisions that they make, even without them realizing it.  They know that the Lord will use their imperfect efforts to bless the people that they love perfectly.  There is a distinctive power that radiates from them when they speak about the Gospel that others can't match.

          Even more than what a consecrated person says or does, the very essence of who they are reflects the decision they made to follow Christ in everything.  There is often something almost magnetic about them that draws people in closer.  They find great joy and satisfaction from their lives and feel peace and a sense of inner stability no matter what is going on around them.  The Lord blesses their efforts in every area and causes them to blossom and be more effective than they would otherwise be.  Devoting oneself to God is difficult, and elicits strong opposition from the Adversary, but it is also the vehicle for personal mighty change.

          In short, the consecrated life is the good life.  It turns everyday men and women into heroes.  It brings to a head all that is beautiful about life and makes the morning stars sing together and the sons of God shout for joy in the soul and causes the heart to burn.  With your hand in the Lord's, despite inconceivable difficulty, every minute a piece of heaven dances softly on your fingertips.