Hidden Treasures HeavensAstonishing Helpwith Your Money Matters Leslie Householder, author ofThe Jackrabbit Factor: Why You Can PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 1hlsulverslonofnlJJeo1teosoteslsyourglfLasaLhankyouforyourlnLeresLln www.Pldden1reasures8ook.com and accepLlng Lhe [47Llps] newsleLLer. 1hank you for not forward|ng or c|rcu|at|ng th|s document. lf you wanL Lo share Lhls book wlLh oLhers, please lnvlLe Lhem Lo download a copy of Lhelr own from www.Pldden1reasures8ook.com. 1heauLhorofLhlsbookreLalnsallrlghLs.noLe:LhlsbooklsnC1publlcdomaln.unauLhorlzed alLeraLlon,modlflcaLlon,re-posLlng,lC8WA8ulnCoranyoLherformofmanlpulaLlonor borrowlng of conLenL from Lhls publlcaLlon ls sLrlcLly prohlblLed. |ease report unauthor|zed act|v|ty to: abuse[LhoughLsallve.com 1helnLerpreLaLlonandappllcaLlonofscrlpLuresandldeaslnLhlsbookbelongsolelyLoLhe auLhorand,whllebasedonprlnclplesunlversallnnaLure,donoLnecessarllyrepresenLofflclal bellefs or docLrlne of any parLlcular denomlnaLlon. CopyrlghL 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014Leslle Pouseholder, All rlghLs reserved. ThoughtsAli ve Books1houghLsAllve.com SlxLh LdlLlon (1hls edlLlon provldes grammaLlcal edlLs, clarlflcaLlons, mlnor changes and new lllusLraLlons. A quoLe by8oydk.ackerandLheLlLLleAcornsLoryhasbeenadded.1hebakerycomlchasbeenremovedbecauseLhe orlglnalfromwhlchlLwasderlvedwasflnallylocaLed,andmayreplacelLoncewesecurepermlsslonLouseLhe orlglnal lnsLead. 1he clLlng procedure for a company Lrademark has been updaLed. Also, followlng boLh Lhe Chlcago andAssoclaLeressManualsofSLyle,andwlLhnodlsrespecLlnLended,pronounsreferenclngdelLyarenolonger caplLallzed.) rlnLed ln Lhe u.S.A. lS8n 0-9763310-2-x/978-0-9763310-2-9 Llbrary of Congress ConLrol number: 2003904030 Table of Contents PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com lnLroducLlonv A lew 8aslc CuesLlons1 All AbouL Laws7 Lessons: 1-Law of erpeLual 1ransmuLaLlon 16 2-Law of 8elaLlvlLy 29 3-Law of vlbraLlon 38 4-Law of olarlLy 36 3-Law of 8hyLhm 61 6-Law of Cause and LffecL 70 7-Law of Cender and CesLaLlon 76 8onus: vacuum Law of rosperlLy 87 1he Challenge 92 Summary102 lndex103 AbouL Lhe AuLhor103 AbouL 1he !ackrabblL lacLor"106 1he l1Ml Pome SLudy rogram107 now WhaL?108 Introduction PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com iv (lnformaLlon you should know lf you wanL Lhe resL of Lhe book Lo make sense.) 1he followlng book ls a companlon Lo my modern-day allegory, 1be Iocktobblt loctot. wby oo coo.WhlleLhe!ackrabblLsLorylsaflcLlonallnLroducLlonLoLhelawsofLhoughL,nlJJeo 1teosotes lnLends Lo answer (ln non-flcLlon formaL) Lhe quesLlon: wby Joes lt wotk? Lach book effecLlvely sLands alone, alLhough Lhey compllmenL each oLher. 1ogeLher, Lhey help Lhe reader lnLernallze Lhe laws of LhoughL relaLed Lo prosperlLy. Whlle 1be Iocktobblt loctot was deslgned Lo be useful Lo any person who belleves ln a Plgher ower, l geL personal ln nlJJeo 1teosotes by Louchlng on some of my personal rellglous bellefs regardlng falLh, whlch have helped me overcome cerLaln challenges along Lhe way. lwrlLeLoLhosewlLhanunlnhlblLedhungerforundersLandlng.CfcourselexpecLanyoneLo scruLlnlzeaphllosophyandmeasurelLagalnsLwhaLfeelsrlghLLohlmorher.1hereferences l'veselecLedLeachprlnclples,whlchlbellevewlllbelnharmonywlLhLhebellefsofanyCod-fearlng (aka splrlLually mlnded) person, no maLLer whaL Lhelr rellglous background may be. l'vewrlLLenLhlsbookwlLhprofoundgraLlLudeLoCodforollowloqmeLosufferyearsof flnanclallackandendureLhenegaLlveeffecLsofdepresslon.1houghlfelLabandonedaLLhe Llme,lcanseenowLhaLhehadeveryLhlngunderconLrolallalong.lLcausedmeLoseekand evenLuallyflndsomepowerfulanswersLosomeofllfe'smosLperplexlngquesLlons.WlLhouL Lhe experlences LhaL Look me Lhrough exLreme blLLerness and despalr, l never would have been so drlven Lo search for Lhe answers l'm presenLlng here. My blLLerness has been replaced wlLh graLlLude, my despalr wlLh hope, my depresslon wlLh [oy, my sLress wlLh peace, and Lhe poverLy hasbeenreplacedwlLhabundance.l'mcompellednowLosharewhaLl'velearnedbecausel know l'm noL Lhe only one Lo sLruggle wlLh flnances. 8obrocLorlsLhemanresponslbleforlnLroduclngmeLomanyofLheldeasconLalnedlnLhls book.Pelsaworld-renownedspeaker,besL-selllngauLhor,andfounderofLlfeSuccess roducLlons. AlLhough he lsn'L a member of Lhe Church of !esus ChrlsL of LaLLer-day SalnLs, he hasbeenknownLoquoLeaMormonverselnhlspresenLaLlon.Pesays,andlagree,LhaLLhe followlngonepassagebeauLlfullysumsupLhefoundaLlonalldeabehlndLheprlnclplesof prosperlLyyouwlllflndlnLhlsbook.1heversereads,1herelsalaw,lrrevocablydecreedln heavenbeforeLhefoundaLlonsofLhlsworld,uponwhlchallblesslngsarepredlcaLed-and Introduction PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com v whenweobLalnanyblesslngfromCod,lLlsbyobedlenceLoLhaLlawuponwhlchlLls predlcaLed" (uocLrlne and CovenanLs 130:20-21). WhlleLhelnLerpreLaLlonandappllcaLlonofscrlpLuresandldeashereotemyowoooJJooot oecessotllytepteseottbebellefsotJocttloeofooypottlcolotJeoomlootloo.?ouwlllflndLhe prlnclples conLalned ln Lhls book Lo be unlversal. MosL of my llfe l've wanLed Lo be obedlenL Lo Cod's laws, as l undersLood Lhem, for l belleved LhaL Lo do so was Lhe only way Lo Lrue happlness. l also belleved Lhe besL way Lo be rlghLeous wasLollveameagerllfe,soLhaLlwouldremalnforeverhumble:anaLLrlbuLenecessaryfor salvaLlon.AfLerall,arlchmanshallhardlyenLerlnLoLheklngdomofheaven"(MaLLhew 19:23). l also belleved lL was evll Lo deslre rlches, and l was cerLaln LhaL Lhe rlcher a person was, Lhe more mlserable Lhey musL become, sooner or laLer. Powever,afLerlmarrledandsLarLedafamlly,lwresLledwlLhadllemmaslmllarLoLheone experlenced by Adam from Lhe Carden of Lden, whlch l call Lhe Adam ulchoLomy". Cod gave Adam Lwo commandmenLs: uoot eot tbe fotblJJeo ftolt, and moltlply ooJ tepleolsb tbe eottb. 8uLwhenLveparLookofLheforblddenfrulLandwascasLouLofLhegarden,Adamhada dlfflculL cholce. Pe could rlghLeously refuse Lhe frulL buL fall Lo replenlsh Lhe earLh, or he could replenlsh Lhe earLh only afLer followlng Lve's forbldden acLlon. LlLher way, he would be rulnlng a perfecL Lrack record. WhllelfelLgullLyforcoveLlngLherlchesofLheworld(llkedeslrlngforblddenfrulL),lwanLed Lhem slmply Lo help me keep Lwo oLher commandmenLs: tboo sbolt oot steol and tboo sbolt oot beotfolsewltoess.1hewaylsawlL,lfldldn'LpaymyblllslnfullandonLlme,lwasnoLonly tobbloq Lhe oLher parLy of Lhelr [usL dues, buL l had moJe o ptomlse ln a conLracL LhaL l was noL keeplng. My lnLegrlLy, or ln oLher words, my booesty was on Lhe llne. lurLhermore,lnowvlewLheCld1esLamenLcommandmenLLomulLlplyandreplenlshLhe earLh" ln more Lhan one way. 1o me, lL's noL jost a llLeral dlrecLlve Lo have chlldren, buL also a symbollclnsLrucLlonLoLakewhaLeverl'vebeenblessedwlLh,andmulLlplylLLodemonsLraLe good sLewardshlp. l belleve Cod would have hls chlldren sLrlve Lo mulLlply whaL llLLle resources Lhey may have, so LhaL Lhey can llve a more abundanL llfe and serve hlm wlLh more dedlcaLlon and focus. lnasense,Lhen,lparLookofLheforblddenfrulL(soughLrlches)soLhaLlmlghLmulLlplymy LalenLs and be a beLLer servanL of Lhe Lord. AfLer all, l LhoughL, how much more qooJ l could do forLheLordlflwasnoLsoself-absorbedwlLhmyneedsallLheLlme.lheardlLsald,Money Introduction PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com vi lsn'L evll, lL [usL makes you more of whaL you already are. lf you're good, Lhen wlLh money you can do mote good. lf you are evll, Lhen we Joot woot lt lo yoot booJs!" lflnallydecldedLhaLlLwasprobablyokayLoseekrlches"agalnsLmyconsclence,raLherLhan reslgn myself Lo Lhe smoLherlng prlson of debL and Lhe sLaln of poor credlL. Powever, obLalnlng rlches was noL as easy as l LhoughL lL would be. Somehow l belleved LhaL lf l were [usL rlghLeous enough, Cod would prosper me, noL [usL splrlLually, buL flnanclally as well. l wenL Lo church each week. l prayed dally. l donaLed my Llme Lo Leachlng chlldren and Leenagers onSunday.lfedmlsslonarleswhowerefarfromhomeandneedlngameal(evenLhoughLhe mealwasneverfancy).lbabysaLforfreeLoglvewearymoLhers(llkeme)abreak.lpaldan honesL LlLhlng. .andlsufferedfromdepresslon.locuslngonLheneedsofoLherswassopposeJLobrlngme [oy,buLnomaLLerhowmuchlLrledLodowhaLwasrlghL,lkeenlyfelLLhewelghLofour flnanclalburdensnearlyeverymomenLofLheday.lfelLagrowlngafflnlLyLoLhechlldrenof lsrael who begged for dellverance from Lhelr slavery ln LgypL. 8uL where was my Moses, senL Lo dellver me? MyhusbandandlvenLuredlnLoafewmoneymaklngldeas,andwepersonallykepLLheself-help lndusLry ln buslness, or so lL felL. 1he way l remember lL, we sacrlflced anyLhlng we could ln orderLokeepourblllspald,andalsofeedourmlndsLolearnhowLosucceed.lsoldmy weddlngdressandfluLeaLayardsale.lwassodesperaLeformoneyLhaLlacLuallysoldmy ?oungWomen'sMedalllonLoavetyexclLedmlddle-agedlady.l'membarrassedLosayLhaLl hadn'LreallzedlLwasn'L[usLapendanLLhaLcouldbereplacedaLmylocaluesereL8ooksLore. (CraLefully, years laLer when l was asked Lo flll a poslLlon ln Lhe ?oung Women's CrganlzaLlon, my good blshop arranged Lo provlde me wlLh a replacemenL.) l also remember Lravellng across Lhe counLry Lo aLLend a semlnar, wlLh no room on a credlL card for Lhe renLal car, and a can of corn ln our backpack. l remember [umplng aL every opporLunlLy Lo spend Llme wlLh menLors, even lf lL had Lo be aL 10:00 p.m., Lwo hours from home. lL dldn'L maLLerLhaLwehadLoarrangeforanovernlghLslLLer(llkeLheanlnsomnlacmemberofour congregaLlon),andLhaLlLwouldmeanreLurnlnglnLheearlymornlnghours,[usLlnLlmeLo cleanofflcebulldlngsas[anlLorsandLhengoLoworkaLourregular[obs.WelnvesLedlnour educaLlonLhroughmoLlvaLlonalsemlnars,books,audlos,andLlmewlLhmenLorsregularlyfor abouL seven years. Crazy?Maybeso.8uLslmplypuL,wewerehungryforlnslghL.1hroughoursLudy,lLbecame clearLhaLouraLLlLudehadeveryLhlngLodowlLhoursuccess,buLwesLlllconsLanLlyfellback Introduction PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com vii lnLooldLhlnklngpaLLerns,falllngLopullouLofourflnanclaldlsLress.Whllemyhusband remalnedcommlLLedLoconLlnualgrowLhandlearnlng,levenLuallybecame[adedandweary from years of efforL wlLh hardly anyLhlng Lo show for lL. Pavlng declded Lo qulL Lrylng, l neverLheless consenLed Lo aLLend [usL CnL more semlnar, whlch l deLermlned would be my lasL. l declded Lo glve up Lrylng Lo change our llfesLyle, and [usL seLLle ln, graLeful for llfe Lhe way lL was, even ln all lLs mlsery. l guess Lhe Lord knew whaL was golng on wlLh me, because he senL 8ob rocLor Lo be Lhe guesL speaker.lLwasoneofLhoseexperlenceswherelfelL,foramomenL,LhaLLheenLlre presenLaLlon was puL LogeLher jost fot me. 8ob had an amazlng message. arLway Lhrough hls presenLaLlon,myhusbandandl[usLlookedaLeachoLherwlLhourmouLhswldeopen.unllke manyofLheoLhersemlnarsweaLLended,herewasnohype.WhlleenLhuslasmlsaneffecLlve way Lo geL a person golng, Lhls one had a dlfferenL effecL on us. Pls message tepolteJ no hype, becauselLwas[usLanunbellevablyslmplebuLpowerfulexplanaLlonofhowLheunlverse operaLes. 1he real reasons for our flnanclal bondage became absoluLely clear, and l reallzed why Cod had ootprosperedus,norwoolJheprosperusunLllwebeganobeylnghlslawsspeclflcally governlng ptospetlty. lhadbeenhoplngformooetotyblesslngsbyrelylngonafewspltltoollaws.lhadreduced everyLhlnglhadbeenLaughLdownLooneslmplefalsephllosophy:beqooJooJyooll ptospet.whlch ls abouL as absurd as Lhlnklng LhaL so long as you obey Lhe speed llmlL, you can shopllfLwlLhouLconsequence.ulfferenLlawshavedlfferenLconsequencesaLLached.llearned LhaL lf l wanLed Lo prosper flnanclally, l had Lo qulL breaklng Lhe laws LhaL governed prosperlLy. lor one Lhlng, l hadn'L known Lhey exlsLed, and for anoLher Lhlng, l dldn'L know l was breaklng Lhem. AsllearnedLhelawsgovernlngLheabundanLllfe,lgraLefullydlscoveredLheyarelnperfecL harmonywlLhLhecommandmenLslhadbeenralsedLofollow.ldldn'LhaveLofaceanoLher AdamulchoLomy,"becauselwouldnoLberequlredLobreakanycommandmenLsLollveby Lhesenew-Lo-melawsofprosperlLy.lnfacL,aslfollowedLhem,myablllLylncreasedLollve more compleLely Lhe precepLs of my falLh. lL was lnLeresLlng Lo me LhaL (aL Lhe semlnar) we were surrounded by people of oLher rellglons, whowere[usLascapLlvaLedandsLrengLhenedlnLhelrownfalLhaswewere.lLwas enllghLenlng, and unlfylng. Introduction PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com viii Asyoucouldguess,LheflrsLsemlnarwlLh8obrocLorwasn'LmylasLsemlnarafLerall.We reLurnedabouLslxmonLhslaLerLohearhlmexpoundforLhreemoredays,andaswe consclouslybeganLollvelnharmonywlLhLhelawsofprosperlLy,ourmonLhlylncomeLrlpled wlLhlnLhreeorfourmoremonLhs.8yLheendofLhefourLhmonLh,wehadalsomovedLoa larger, more beauLlful home ln a safer nelghborhood, Lurnlng our prevlous home lnLo a renLal, even Lhough we had prevlously been golng ln Lhe hole" several hundred dollars a monLh. 1he change had been aLLalned so easlly, and Lhe dlfference was so dramaLlc, LhaL l could hardly slL sLlll. lllled wlLh profound graLlLude Lo Cod for our newfound knowledge, l boJ Lo share whaL l knew. So when Llfe Success roducLlons senL ouL a call for program faclllLaLors, l [umped aL Lhe opporLunlLy. 1he Lralnlng cosL us a small forLune, buL by Lhls Llme we had accumulaLed [usL LhaL much ln savlngs. lor once we were able Lo lnvesL ln ourselves on a cash basls. 1he Lralnlng was mlnd-blowlng,andllvlngbyLheprlnclplesbeganLocomemorenaLurallywlLhpracLlce.Asa resulL,l'vebeenableLodevelopaquleLconfldenceLhaLLheLordwlllalwaysprovldeformy needs.l'vefoundmywlngsanddevelopedaunlquewayofbrlnglngLhlslnformaLlonLomy nlche audlence ouLslde of my assoclaLlon wlLh Llfe Success roducLlons. 8oLLom llne: l had always been LaughL over and over Lo fear noL, and LrusL Cod, buL unLll l had a worklng knowledge of hls laws connecLed wlLh Lhe blesslng of prosperlLy, l dldn'L know how Lo have LhaL klnd of falLh. SoonafLerbecomlngaprogramfaclllLaLor,lsLumbledonLoSheLovesCod.comandresponded LoanarLlclewrlLLenbyLhefounder,Marnleehrson.1haLbeganaconversaLlon,whlch evenLuallyledmeLosharewhaLlhadlearnedwlLhher.Marnlesays,AsoJltecttesoltof leotoloqtbeselows,l'vettlpleJmylotetoetlocome,ooJmybosbooJbostetlteJftomblsJoy job to stott bls owo petsoool cbef bosloess (wblcb be's beeo Jteomloq oboot fot yeots)! 1o soy tbelofotmotloolsllfecbooqloqwoolJbeooooJetstotemeot.~Marnleehrson,auLhorof llqbttbewotlJ.nowoot8tlllloocecoo5blfttbellooet,andfounderoflgnlLeolnL.comand SheLovesCod.com. ln 2002, and aL her requesL, l wroLe a serles of arLlcles abouL Lhese laws for her subscrlbers. Cver Llme, LhaL collecLlon of arLlcles was complled and revlsed Lo become Lhe book you hold ln your hands. lor more Lhan a year, l presenLed Lhe prlnclples on Lhe lnLerneL wlLh excluslve reference Lo Lhe klng !ames verslon of Lhe 8lble, and [usL a few secular works as well LhaL supporLed Lhe ldeas. l saw an opporLunlLy Lo Lake whaL l had learned from 8ob rocLor, and brlng lL speclflcally Lo Lhe ChrlsLlan audlence. Slnce hls ldeas were compleLely ln harmony wlLh my rellglous bellefs, lL was an easy Lhlng Lo puL Lhem ln a splrlLual conLexL. Slnce Lhen, l have found oLher references from MormonllLeraLure,whlchofferaddlLlonalwlLness"forLheprospecLlveleglLlmacyofLhese prlnclples. Introduction PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com ix My flrsL ldea for Lhe book was Lo gaLher oll supporLlng llLeraLure from oll ma[or rellglons of Lhe worldforalandmarkpro[ecLLhaLcouldlmproveLhellvesofallCod-fearlngpeopleacrossLhe globe. 1he wlder Lhe markeL, Lhe beLLer, l was Lold. 8uL ln a way, LhaL's whaL 8ob was already dolng. 8esldes, l reallzed Lhere ls so much wrlLLen abouL lL, lL would have been lnsane Lo Lry Lo pull off my orlglnal ldea. 1he world ls fllled wlLh Lhls wlsdom LaughL from so many angles, lL ls a wonder how l had been bllnd Lo lL before. 1he prlnclples governlng prosperlLy may be some of LhemosLfundamenLaldocLrlnesLobesharedbyallma[orrellgloussecLs.AfLerall,LruLhls LruLh,andLruLhseekerswlllcllngLoLruLhnomaLLerwhereLheyflndlL.AsamemberofLhe Church of !esus ChrlsL of LaLLer-day SalnLs (a Mormon), l saw a presslng need among my frlends andfamllyLoLakeLheseldeasandbrlngLhemLogeLherfrommypolnLofvlew.lwasslmplya moLher of young chlldren who wanLed Lo sLay home and ralse her famlly, and who successfully applled Lhe laws of LhoughL Lo achleve a few of her ob[ecLlves. ?ou do noL have Lo embrace my rellglon Lo see Lhe prlnclples of prosperlLy work for you. Slmply puL, Cod's power permeaLes Lhe unlverse and as we llve ln harmony wlLh hls laws connecLed Lo prosperlLy,weareblessedwlLhLhemlraclesofLheabundanLllfe.lnfacL,manypeopleofall rellglonsllvelnharmonywlLhLheselawsookoowloqlyandLhusprosper,noLeven undersLandlng Lhe real reason why. Anyway, Lhe followlng lnformaLlon seems Lrue Lo me. lL has borne good frulL ln my llfe and l'm pleased Lo share a few of Lhe good seeds wlLh you now. So brlng your falLh, greaL or small, and leL me see lf l can help lncrease lL. AfLer you read Lhls book, ask Cod ln your own way wheLher ornoLLheldeaspresenLedmeeLhlsapprovalforyourllfe.lfyoufeelpeaceand[oy,Lhenyou canknowlLlsgood.lfyoufeelconfuslonanduncerLalnLy,LhenLrusLwhaLeveralLernaLlve guldance he provldes. 1haL process works for me, and has yeL Lo sLeer me wrong. 8eason lL ouL, draw your own concluslon, and Lhen ask lf your concluslon ls accuraLe. 8ot, bebolJ, l soy ooto yoo, tbot yoo most stoJy lt oot lo yoot mloJ, tbeo yoo most osk melfltbetlqbt,ooJlfltlstlqbtlwlllcoosetbotyootbosomsbollbotowltbloyoo, tbetefote,yoosbollfeeltbotltlstlqbt.8otlfltbeoottlqbtyoosbollboveoosocb feelloq,botyoosbollboveostopotoftbooqbttbotsbollcooseyootofotqettbetbloq wblcb ls wtooq (uocttloe &coveooots 9.8-9). l[usLhopeLhaLyou'llflndwlLhlnLhesepagesawlderpanoramlcvlewofhowLheunlverse seemsLooperaLe,aperspecLlveLhaLleavesyoufeellngenllghLened,empowered,andmore falLhfulLhanever.1hlslswhaLlL'sdoneforme.So,wlLhmuLualrespecLforourbellefs, whaLever Lhey may be, leL's proceed. l'm eager Lo share Lhe Lhlngs l've dlscovered. A few basic questions PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 1 l'velearnedonapersonallevelLheLruLhlnLhepromlseLhaLPeLhaLdlllgenLlyseekeLhshall flnd, and Lhe mysLerles of Cod shall be unfolded unLo Lhem, by Lhe power of Lhe Poly ChosL, as well ln Lhese Llmes as ln Llmes of old, and as well ln Llmes of old as ln Llmes Lo come" (1 nephl 10:19 ). Llfe's experlences can ofLen seem random, leadlng us Lo ask some preLLy serlous quesLlons. ?eL, l've also learned LhaL for every quesLlon Lhere ls an answer, and Lhere are few promlses ln Lhe scrlpLures LhaL are repeaLed as ofLen as Lhe promlse LhaL lf we seek, we shall flnd, and lf we ask, weshallrecelve.lhopeLhaLLhlsworkwlllserveLobrlngyouanswersLoLhequesLlonsyou mlghL be seeklng now. Some of Lhese quesLlons may lnclude: uoesCoJwootmetobepoot?uoesbewootmetobovepleotyofmooey?Ot,Joeslt eveo mottet to nlm?wbete wlll tbe mooey come ftom?nowlslttbotlmtellloqCoJ,"Notbookyoo"tlqbtoowtotbeblessloqsofobooJooce tbot be bos ovolloble to me?wbot ooseeo tbloqs ote boppeoloq fot my beoeflt wbeo l cboose to exptess qtotltoJe to CoJ?wbot tole Joes CoJ ploy lo my floooclol llfe?wbot coo l Jo klCn1 NOw to moke o Jlffeteoce klCn1 NOw?now ls my sttess ooJ feot telofotcloq tbe oofovotoble cltcomstooces lo my llfe?wbotooseeotbloqsoteboppeoloqwbeolfeelfeotooJbowJoeskoowloqwbotls boppeoloq setve to coopoet tbe feot?wbot ooe lJeo coo l leoto tbot wlll qlve me tbe powet to opply foltb wltb cooflJeoce?now coo l cbooqe my foltb loto o sote koowleJqe tbot my oeeJs wlll most Jefloltely be met? Codhasn'LLolduswe'resopposeJtoseekrlches,buLhehasLoldusLhaLlfweseek,wewlll flnd. uo you belleve LhaL? uo you Lhlnk LhaL each Llme (and Lhere ote qulLe a few Llmes) he sald ln Lhe 8lble, Seek and ye shall flnd," he was only Lalklng abouL salvaLlon? When he sald, Ask and lL shall be glven you," was he only Lalklng abouL Llvlng WaLer? no, l personally don'L Lhlnk so. WhaLever worLhy Lhlng we need, tbot ls whaL he wlll provlde, lf we osk. ?ou'll learn ln Lhls book how Lo do [usL LhaL. A few basic questions PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 2 erhaps he hasn'L commooJeJ us Lo seek rlches per se, however, many have felL hls nudglngs Lo geL ouL of debL, llve wlLhln Lhelr means, bulld or supporL Lhe klngdom of Cod, serve mlsslons, orLoslmplymalnLalnLhelrproperLlesLhaLLheymaybewlseandfalLhfulsLewardsofLhe blesslngs he has already glven Lhem. We know we should feed Lhe poor and brlng rellef Lo Lhe needy. l'm cerLaln LhaL he also wanLs us Lo ralse our famllles by provldlng ample nourlshmenL, educaLlon, and developlng sLrong, healLhy relaLlonshlps, Lhrough quallLy Llme. SomearecompelledLouseLhelrresourcesLosearchouLLhelrherlLage,LhusfurLher sLrengLhenlngLhelrfamllybonds.CLhersfeelcompelledLobeself-rellanLandpreparedfor emergencles wlLh a supply of food and fuel, or have aL leasL a few monLhs lncome saved ln case of a [ob loss or downLurn ln Lhe economy. CLhers have a burnlng deslre Lo geL an educaLlon of Lhelr own Lo help Lhem reach Lhelr Cod-glven poLenLlal. LveryfalLhful,Cod-fearlnghumanbelnglscompelledLoJosometbloq.lnmanycases,LhaL sometbloq requlres a llLLle blL of lucre" [usL Lo geL lL done. CulLefrankly,weneedmoremoneyLhanjosteoooqbforscraplngbyeachmonLh.lfwefeel CodhasaskedcerLalnLhlngsofus,LhenwecanknowhehaspreparedawayforusLo accompllsh Lhem. As an anclenL leader (clrca 600 8.C.) named nephl sald, lwlllqoooJJotbetbloqswblcbtbelotJbotbcommooJeJ,fotlkoowtbottbelotJ qlvetboocommooJmeotsoototbecbllJteoofmeo,sovebesbollptepoteowoyfot tbem tbot tbey moy occompllsb tbe tbloq wblcb be commooJetb tbem (1 Nepbl J.7). Cod would noL compel us Lo do Lhls or LhaL wlLhouL preparlng a way for us Lo make lL happen. lL wouldbeludlcrousLoLhlnkhewouldLellusLodosomeLhlngandLhenslLbackandleaveus sLuckwlLhanlmposslbleLask.Pedoesn'LalwaysmakelLeasy,andLheanswersLoour dllemmasarenoLalwaysobvlous,becauseLhroughoursearchandsLrugglewegrow.Pels more lnLeresLed ln our personal growLh Lhan he ls ln our comforL, and lf we can sLep ouLslde of our Lroubles long enough Lo see Lhe lmpllcaLlons of LhaL ldea, we wlll reallze LhaL hls parenLlng Lechnlques are unspeakably wlse. We can learn Lo LrusL Plm. We can LrusL LhaL he wlll help us grow ln self-rellance Lhrough our sLruggles. When we are able Locareforourownneeds,wearemorelncllnedLosearchouLsldeofourselvesLohelp someone else. Marlon C. 8omney, former llrsL Counselor ln Lhe llrsL resldency of Lhe Church of !esus ChrlsL of LaLLer-day SalnLs sald, A few basic questions PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 3 wltbootself-tellooceooecooootexetclsetbeseloooteJesltestosetve.nowcoowe qlvelftbetelsootbloqtbete?looJfottbebooqtycooootcomeftomemptysbelves. Mooey to osslst tbe oeeJy coooot come ftom oo empty potse. 1betelsoolotetJepeoJeocebetweeotbosewboboveooJtbosewboboveoot.1be ptocessofqlvloqexoltstbepootooJbomblestbetlcb.lotbeptocess,botbote sooctlfleJ. 1be poot, teleoseJ ftom tbe booJoqe ooJ llmltotloos of povetty, ote eoobleJ osfteemeototlsetotbeltfollpoteotlol,botbtempotollyooJspltltoolly.1betlcb,by lmpottloqoftbeltsotplos,pottlclpotelotbeetetoolptloclpleofqlvloq.Ooceopetsoo bos beeo moJe wbole, ot self-telloot, be teocbes oot to olJ otbets, ooJ tbe cycle tepeots ltself (komoey, Motloo C. 1be celestlol Notote of 5elf-kellooce, oslqo, Iooe 1984, J). LveryonelssomewherelnLhemlddleofLhlscycle.Arewerlch,needlngLoshowhumlllLy Lhroughglvlng,orarewepoor,learnlngLhehardlessonsofhowLograclouslyrecelve? Popefully we are noL Lhe klnd of rlch person who hoards hls/her blesslngs, and hopefully we're noLLheklndofpoorpersonwhoLakesunfalradvanLageofoLherpeople'scharlLy.lnevery poslLlon along Lhe cycle, we have Lhe cholce of whaL klnd of aLLlLude we wlll fosLer. ln any case, LhefollowlngscrlpLureouLllnesLheorderourprlorlLlesmusLfollow,lfwewanLLollveln harmony wlLh Cod's wlll for us: 8otbefoteyeseekfottlcbes,seekyefottbekloqJomofCoJ.AoJoftetyebove obtoloeJ o bope lo cbtlst ye sboll obtolo tlcbes, lf ye seek tbem, ooJ ye wlll seek tbem fot tbe loteot to Jo qooJ-to clotbe tbe ookeJ, ooJ to feeJ tbe booqty, ooJ to llbetote tbe coptlve, ooJ oJmlolstet tellef to tbe slck ooJ tbe offllcteJ (Iocob 2.18-19). l'll add here LhaL we wlll do all Lhese Lhlngs for our owo famllles Loo. We wlll care for our own, andLakeguldedsLepsLollberaLeourselvesfromflnanclalcapLlvlLy,andadmlnlsLerrellefLo ourselves lf we are slck wlLh flnanclal worry. So,wouldyoullkeafewPldden1reasures?CouldyouuseallLLleblLofPeaven'sAsLonlshlng PelpwlLhyourMoneyMaLLers?lLmaLLers.lLmaLLersLhaLyourelyonCodforLhehelpyou need.WecoulddoeveryLhlngrlghL,flndwealLh,andLhenfallLoglvehlmLhecredlLforour dellverance, however: loootbloqJotbmoooffeoJCoJ,otoqolostoooelsblswtotbkloJleJ,sovetbosewbo coofess oot bls booJ lo oll tbloqs (uocttloe ooJ coveooots 59.21). Cnce we ote dellvered, we need Lo acknowledge Lhe source of our dellverance, and follow Lhe advlce:A few basic questions PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 4 lf tlcbes locteose, set oot yoot beott opoo tbem (lsolms 62.10). If God rea||y wants me to be wea|thy, why hasn't he a|ready made me so? Agaln,lbelleveLhereasonLhaLpeopledon'LusuallyprosperauLomaLlcallylsbecausehels morelnLeresLedlnourpersonalgrowLhLhanourcomforL.1hesLrugglelsparLofLheblesslng, belleve lL or noL. 1o prosper wlLhouL Lhe sLruggle ls Lo never comprehend Lhe voloe of Lhe glfL of dellverance. lurLhermore, sLruggles keep us golng Lo our knees. and ooytbloq tbot Joes LhaL ls a blesslng ln dlsgulse. AoJlfmeocomeootomelwlllsbowoototbemtbeltweokoess.lqlveootomeo weokoesstbottbeymoybebomble,ooJmyqtocelssofflcleotfotollmeotbotbomble tbemselvesbefoteme,fotlftbeybombletbemselvesbefoteme,ooJbovefoltblome, tbeo wlll l moke weok tbloqs become sttooq ooto tbem (tbet 12.27). Lven our ablllLy Lo meeL flnanclal obllgaLlons can become one such sLrengLh. Pe allows us Lo suffer flnanclal sLress and worry ln hopes LhaL we wlll Lurn Lo hlm for answers. When we do, he provldes Lhose answers. SomeLlmes he walLs unLll we are sufflclenLly humble Lo appreclaLe Lhe answers. lf l had been glven Lhese answers Loo soon, l would noL have felL so sLrongly abouL sharlng my answers wlLh you. ln facL, l wouldn'L have appreclaLed Lhem. l mlghL noL have even belleved Lhem. Larller ln my llfe, l Lrled Lo be ulLra-obedlenL-Lo a faulL. l reallze now LhaL all Lhose years, l was Lrylng Lo petfect myself. LvenLually l caved, because lL ls llLerally lmposslble Lo become perfecL onourown.lhadn'LyeLlearnedhowLorelyonaSavlorLomakeupLhedlfferenceformy deflclencles. lronlcally, Lhe answers Lo my floooclol dllemmas came afLer l flnally gave up Lrylng. l had gone emoLlonallyllmp,andLoldCodLhaLlfhewanLedmeLogeLouLofbedLhenexLmornlng,he would have Lo be Lhe one responslble for lL. !usL abouL all l could commlL Lo was Lo pray every mornlngandnlghLforLhefollowlngLwoweeks.noexLra-currlcularservlcepro[ecLs,no promlsesLobeaperfecLmoLher,noguaranLeeofanyLhlngbuLahumblehearLanda commlLmenL Lo pray ofLen. l had glven up Lrylng Lo be perfecL, and Lold hlm apologeLlcally LhaL Lhls was all l could promlse rlghL now. nolongerdldlfeelangryaLmyselfformyfalllngs,lslmplywaslnLhedepLhsofsadnessLo reallzehowhopelesslwas,andhowlwasn'LableLobeperfecL,nomaLLerhowhardlLrled.l A few basic questions PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 5 hadbellevedLhaLlflwas[usLdlsclpllnedenough,orsLrongenough,lcouldhavebeenLhaL 'super-woman'.8uLno,nowlknewlLwouldremalnbeyondmyreachnomaLLerhowgoodl Lrled Lo be. l lamenLed my defeaL, and leL go of any hope LhaL l could ever llve a perfecL llfe. aradoxlcally, for Lhe flrsL Llme ln years and aL LhaL momenL, l flnally felL hlm smlllng on me. lL ls as lf he was saylng, ?ou flnally reallze your dependence on me, nCW we can proceed!" SlnceLhen,l'velearnedLhaLlaccompllshmoreanddogreaLerLhlngswhenlmalnLalnLhaL aLLlLudeofhumlllLyandacknowledgeLhaLlfleveraccompllshanyLhlngnoLeworLhy,lLls because Cod made lL happen Lhrough me, and ln splLe of me. lL ls Lhrough hls SplrlL LhaL l can wakeeachmornlngandbelleveLhaLLhedaylsworLhgeLLlngupfor.lLlsbecauseofLhaL experlenceandmanyslnceLhaLl'velearnedlamLrulynoLhlngwlLhouLPlm,andcandono good Lhlng on my own. 8uL l dldn'L learn Lhls valuable lesson unLll l gave lL my all for as long as l could, and found ouL LhaL l sLlll came up shorL. So where are you aL? uo you feel you've glven lL your all and you're ready Lo leL Cod sLep ln and help you achleve success hls way? Pow Leachable are you tlqbt oow? All about laws 7 Pave you ever vlolaLed a man-made law? Say, for example, a Lrafflc law? Pow many Llmes bove you vlolaLed a Lrafflc law? Pow many Llmes have you been cooqbt? uoLhoseflguresmaLch?CfcourseLheydon'L.WhenweLalkabouLlow,lLlsnaLuralLo lmmedlaLely Lhlnk of Lhe klnd of laws wlLh whlch we are mosL famlllar. ln our everyday llfe, we aremorellkelyLochaLwlLhourafrlendabouLLheguywhocuLusoffLomakeanlllegallane changeorLhenewLaxbrackeLforwhlchwe[usLquallfled.1heseareklndofmushylaws, Lhough. WhaL do l mean by LhaL? l mean LhaL Lhese laws are sopposeJ Lo be sLrlcLly observed, buL when Lhey are noL, someLlmes Lhe vlolaLor suffers a clvll consequence, whlle someLlmes lL seems Lo go unpunlshed. So when someone Lrles Lo Lell you LhaL Lhere are naLural laws governlng prosperlLy, or success, Lhere ls a Lendency Lo Lhlnk, l wouldn'L bank on lL." lL may be Lrue, buL l wouldn'L counL on lL worklnglnevetycase."Cr,Soundsllkea'geLrlchqulck'scheme.1hey'reonlyafLermy money." Cr, 1here's no such Lhlng as 'ooe fotmolo flLs all' Lo maklng money." LeL me explaln someLhlng. When you Lhlnk of law, don'L Lhlnk of man-made laws. 1hey're [usL noL absoluLe enough Lo compare wlLh Lhe ldeas l'll be presenLlng here. When l say law," raLher Lhlnk of someLhlng llke qtovlty. CravlLy ls a naLural law (a law of naLure) LhaL ls dependable and consLanL. ?ou don'L have Lo belleve ln lL, you don'L have Lo llke lL. ln facL, you don'L even have LoundersLandlL.8uLyouotesLlllsub[ecLLolL.LveryLhlnglssub[ecLLolL.WhenweseemLo defy" lL, lL ls because we are uslng oLher laws, whlch are dependable and consLanL as well. We can use our knowledge of laws Lo our advanLage. lgnorance of Lhe laws leaves us llmlLed ln our ablllLles. CneLhlnglllkeLopolnLouLaLLhlssLageofLhegamelsLhefollowlngldea.WlLhreferenceLo Lhe facL LhaL you don'L have Lo belleve ln a law Lo be sub[ecL Lo lL, plcLure Lhls: Suppose LhaL you haveflrmbelleflnmlndovermaLLer."?ouchoosenoLLobellevelnLhelawofgravlLy.?ou decldeLhaLyoudon'LwanLLobesub[ecLLolLooymote.SoyougoLoLheedgeofacllff,and All about laws PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 8 wlLh all of Lhe poslLlve Lhlnklng you can musLer, you sLep off. lL's no surprlse LhaL, once agaln, gravlLy proves Lrue and your mlnd over maLLer" Lurns lnLo a mlnd all~a~smaLLer." Mlnd over maLLer" ls a Lrue prlnclple, don'L geL me wrong. 8uL lL only works when we apply lL ln harmony wlLh oototol lows. 8emember tbot as you read on, because, lf you flnd LhaL you're havlngahardLlmebellevlnganyofLhelawsLhaLl'llpresenL,sobelL.!usLrememberLhaLlL'll save you from a loL of paln lf you choose Lo belleve Lhem anyway. More about 'Law' lLhlnkman-madelawssuchasLrafflclawsshouldraLherbecalledLrafflccodesofconducL." 1ax laws should be called Lax rules." We need Lhem, buL Lhey aren'L as dependable as Lhe Lerm law"wouldlndlcaLe.lorLhesakeofLhlsbook,lL'slmporLanLLhaLwhenlsaylow,l'mLalklng abouLsomeLhlngabsoluLe,someLhlngunbreakable,andsomeLhlngLhaL[usLls."?oucannoL bteokalaw,youcanonlybteokyootselfoqolostlt.lfyouvlolaLeLhelaw,youwlllmosL deflnlLelybesorryyoudld,andunforLunaLelyLherelsnomercylfyou'relgnoranL.1he consequences wlll come, regardless of your undersLandlng of Lhe law. Sp|r|tua| Laws Can be Cond|t|ona| Sln ls when you Lransgress a splrlLual law afLer you have been glven Lhe law and are capable of undersLandlng lL. LeL me explaln: Suppose a one year-old chlld snaLches a Loy from hls Lhree year-old broLher. 1he splrlLual law, hadhecompleLelyundersLoodlLwouldhavelnsLrucLedhlmLhoushalLnoLsLeal."lfheknew beLLer and dld lL anyway, LhaL would have been sln. Cf course, a one year-old chlld ls lncapable of undersLandlng such a prlnclple, so he ls lnnocenL. !ohn 9:41 says, Iesos solJ ooto tbem, lf ye wete blloJ, ye sboolJ bove oo slo. bot oow ye soy, we see, tbetefote yoot slo temoloetb. ln oLher words, your lnnocence ls dlrecLly relaLed Lo Lhe degree wlLh whlch you undersLood Lhe law. 1hlnkagalnabouLLhebaby.Pedoesn'LundersLandLhesplrlLuallaw,sohewlllnoLsufferany eLernal consequences Lyplcally aLLached Lo vlolaLlon of LhaL splrlLual law. Powever, Lhe oototol lowofCauseandLffecLlsanabsoluLelaw.noallowancelsmadeforlgnorance.1hebaby All about laws PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 9 sLeallngLheLoyfromhlsbroLherwllldlscoverLheeffecLsofLhlslawwhenhlsolderbroLher beglns screamlng and crylng and perhaps even lnfllcLlng paln on Lhe poor llLLle baby! God D|d Not App|y the Consequence 1heconsequencewassponLaneousandnaLural.lbelleveLhaLCodwouldpreferhlschlldren suffer no paln, buL we llve ln a naLural world LhaL ls governed by naLural laws. naLural laws are laws LhaL even Cod wlll noL alLer. Pe does noL conLrol Lhe ouLcome of our abldlng or vlolaLlng Lhem.Powever,hedoesundersLandLhemperfecLly,andLrlesLoLeachusLhroughLhe scrlpLures and hls propheLs how Lo llve ln harmony wlLh Lhem so LhaL perhaps by our obedlence we can avold many palnful, naLural consequences. 1hebeauLlfulLhlngabouLundersLandlngLhelawslsLhaLlfwechooseLollvelnharmonywlLh Lhem,wewlllalsobefollowlngCod'ssplrlLuallawsbecauseLheyarelnharmonywlLheach oLher. We wlll flnd LhaL we can en[oy happlness, peace, and abundance now, and eLernal [oy ln Lhe hereafLer. WhaL more could Cod wanL for hls chlldren? 1bete ls o low, lttevocobly JecteeJ lo beoveo befote tbe foooJotloos of tbls wotlJ, opoo wblcb oll blessloqs ote pteJlcoteJ-AoJ wbeo we obtolo ooy blessloq ftom CoJ, lt ls by obeJleoce to tbot low opoo wblcb lt ls pteJlcoteJ (uocttloe ooJ coveooots 1J0.20-21). 1here are laws aLLached Lo good healLh, Lo lovlng relaLlonshlps, and yes, even Lo wealLh. Are we supposed to be poor? WhaL abouL MaLLhew 19:24? lt ls eoslet fot o comel to qo tbtooqb tbe eye of o oeeJle, tboo fot o tlcb moo to eotet loto tbe kloqJom of CoJ. PowdowedealwlLhtbotconcepL?WelookaLLheconLexLlnwhlchlLwasprobablywrlLLen. l'veheardlLsaldLhaLlnLhedaysof!esus,LheeyeofaneedlerepresenLedanenLrywayLoa clLy.lLwassmallenoughforacamelLoenLer,oolylfLhecamelcrawledLhroughonlLsknees. 1hlslssymbollcofhumlllLy,andawllllngnessLoremoveallexLrabaggagesoLhaLwemay squeeze Lhrough. So, lf we wanL Lo llve prosperously, Anu we wanL Lo sLlll 'go Lo heaven', we musL be cerLaln LhaL our hearL ls ln Lhe rlghL place. Would we be able Lo glve lL all up? Iesos solJ ooto blm, lf tboo wllt be petfect, qo ooJ sell tbot tboo bost, ooJ qlve to tbe poot,ooJtboosboltbovetteosotelobeoveo.ooJcomeooJfollowme.8otwbeotbe All about laws PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 10 yoooqmoobeotJtbotsoyloq,beweotowoysottowfol.fotbeboJqteotpossessloos. (Mottbew 19.21-22) CanweprosperandsLlllmalnLalnourhumlllLyandobedlenceLohlscommandmenLs?We're warned LhaL lL ls a hard Lhlng Lo do. 8uL whaL ls Lhe alLernaLlve? ls lL beLLer Lo remaln needy or could we do a loL of good for hls sake lf Cod showed us how Lo prosper? Conslder Lhls: SaLanwouldhaveusbelleveLhaLwearebeLLeroffpoor.Why?8ecauselfallCod-fearlng peoplearebrokeandneedy,andallLheunscrupulouspeoplearewealLhy,whowlllrunLhe medla?WhowlllbecomeLhepollLlcalleaders?WhowlllmakeLhemovlesanddeslgnLhe fashlonsofLheday?WhowlllhaveLhegreaLesLlnfluenceonsocleLy?lellowprlnclpled people.weoeeJabundance!leotootLoprosper!lncreaseyourdevoLlonandholdfasLLo rlghLeous prlnclples. buL leL hlm prosper you! 1he 'Compet|t|ve' Versus the 'Creat|ve' |ane Whenever rlches are obLalned ln an unlawful" manner, speclflcally, ln vlolaLlon of naLural laws, Lhe prosperlLy ls Lemporary. lor example, many geL rlch on a competltlve plooe. LeL me explaln: plcLureaple,wlLhoneplece,whlchbelongsLoyou.lfyourpleceofLheplerepresenLsLhe prosperlLy or wealLh you en[oy, Lhen Lo geL more, someone musL geL less, (see flg. 1 and flg. 2). Cn Lhe oLher hand, you wlll see LhaL Lo obLaln wealLh on a cteotlve plane, you are addlng some pleLoLheouLerrlmofyourplece,lncreaslngLhedlameLerofLheple,andbecauseNotote Abbotsovocoom,LheresLofLheplegeLsfllledln,bylaw,andablggerplelscreaLedfor everyone, (flg. 3 and flg. 4). 1hls ls ln harmony wlLh naLural law, and splrlLual law. ?ou wlll learn more abouL Lhe vacuum Law of rosperlLy aL Lhe end of Lhe book. All about laws PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 11 llg. 1 llg. 2

llg. 3llg. 4 PowdoeslLwork?Pere'sanexample.ALoneLlmeldecldedLoconducLmyflrsLworkshopLo Leach Lhese prlnclples. lL began wlLh a slmple ldea. As l conLlnued ln LhaL LhoughL, l reserved a conference room aL a local hoLel. l ordered refreshmenLs. l provlded maLerlals. l used gasollne ln my car. l hlred a babyslLLer. l plcked up presenLaLlon maLerlals aL Lhe local offlce supply sLore, andonLhedayofLhepresenLaLlon,whenwepausedforalunchbreak,laLeouLwlLhmy husband. Your piece (For yours to get bigger, someone elses must get smaller) Operating on the Creative Plane Operating on the Competitive Plane Your piece As you creatively make yours bigger, the pie grows larger for everyone! All about laws PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 12 l was compensaLed for conducLlng Lhe workshop. uld l compeLe wlLh anyone for Lhe revenue? no.uldllncreaseLheslzeofLhepleforanyoneelse?Well,leL'ssee.LeLmellsLsomeofLhe people who beneflLed flnanclally from my efforL: PoLel owner CaLerer MaLerlals producer Cas sLaLlon owner 8abyslLLer 8esLauranL owner .and even Lhe pottlclpoots came away fllled Lo overflowlng wlLh lnformaLlon and skllls Lo glve LhemLhepowerLoprosper.Wln,wln,wln,wln,wln,wln,andwln.allLhewayaround!1here arenolosers.AslfLheprosperlLymaLerlallzedouLofLhlnalr,weallcameawayfromLhe experlence [usL a llLLle wealLhler. WecanlearnLobecreaLlve,andllvelnpeaceknowlngLhaLourneedscanbemeLwlLhouL dlmlnlshlng anyone else's porLlon. 1hls ls ln harmony wlLh Cod's unlversal Laws. So, ulLlmaLe success = happlness and abundance here and now, and eLernal llfe and exalLaLlon ln Lhe hereafLer. lL ls a worLhy Lhlng Lo deslre, and you can have lL. Whlle we are promlsed ln MaLhew 7:7, Ask, and lL shall be glven you," Lhe problem ls we don'L teolly belleve lL. 1haL's rlghL, we don'L. Pow ofLen do you kneel ln prayer, peLlLlonlng Lhe Lord foracerLalnLhlng,koowloqhe'sgolngLoglvelLLoyou[usLbecauseyouasked?WhylslLso hard Lo belleve? 8ecause we don'L know LhaL Lhere are absoluLe laws we can JepeoJ on. lf you lackfalLhlnCod,LhenyoucanLrusLLhelawsandyourfalLhlnCodwlllbesLrengLhened.lsn'L LhaL wonderful?! lf your falLh ln Cod ls already lmmovable, Lhen galnlng an undersLandlng of Lhe laws wlll come easy. lf you are accusLomed Lo LrusLlng ln hls laws, Lhen mote laws wlll noL seem resLrlcLlve, buL acLuallyllberaLlng.PowcouldLhaLbe?1hlnkofLhelawsllkeaklLesLrlng.lLlsLhesttloqLhaL enablesLheklLeLosoar!LvenLhoughlLseemsLhaLLhesLrlnglspteveotloqLheklLefrom reachlng greaLer freedoms, wltboot Lhe sLrlng Lhe klLe wlll fall Lo Lhe ground. (1hls analogy was derlvedfromasLoryLoldbyaLrlcla.lnegarlneace,Pope,andulrecLlon,"Lnslgn,nov. 1999,67.)So,celebraLeLhaLweareglvenlaws,begraLefulLhaLhewanLsLoenllghLenour mlnds Lo undersLand Lhem. All about laws PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 13 low, oot coofosloo, ls tbe Jomlootloq ptloclple lo tbe oolvetse... 1bls beloq so, moo bos bottotlqbtblmselftofloJtbottbeoolvetselstlqbt.AoJJotloqtbeptocessofpottloq blmself tlqbt, be wlll floJ tbot os be oltets bls tbooqbts towotJs tbloqs ooJ otbet people, tbloqsooJotbetpeoplewllloltettowotJsblm(Alleo,Iomes.AsoMoo1bloketb.New otk. letet loopet ltess, loc., p. 27). LvenwlLhllLLleapparenLrhymeorreasonLoourclrcumsLances,weareempoweredwhenwe undersLand Lhe laws. ln facL, when we pass on Lo Lhe oLher slde, l belleve we wlll dlscover LhaL llfe wos falr. We [usL dldn'L undersLand all of Lhe unlversal laws governlng us. !ames Allen was a wrlLeraLLheLurnofLheLwenLleLhcenLury,whoseessayonLhesub[ecLlsnowgalnlngwlder acclalm Lhan ever. A few of hls mosL profound commenLs solldlfy Lhese prlnclples, causlng Lhe ldeas Lo seem llke plaln old common sense. ln hls words: wbeobebeqlostoteflectopooblscooJltlooooJseotcbJlllqeotlyfottbelowopoo wblcbblsbeloqlsestobllsbeJ,jomoo]tbeobecomestbewlsemostet,Jltectloqbls eoetqleswltblotelllqeoceooJfosblooloqblstbooqbtstoftoltfollssoes.5ocblstbe cooscloos mostet, ooJ moo coo ooly tbos become by Jlscovetloq wltblo blmself tbe lows of tbooqbt (Alleo, p. 10). 1botbelstbemoketofblscbotoctet,tbemolJetofblsllfe,ooJtbebollJetofbls Jestloy,jomoo]moyooettloqlyptove,lfbewlllwotcb,coottol,ooJoltetblstbooqbts, ttocloqtbelteffectopoootbetsooJblsllfeooJcltcomstooces,llokloqcooseooJeffect by potleot ptoctlce ooJ lovestlqotloo (Alleo, 11). vetymoolswbetebelsbytbelowofblsbeloq,tbetbooqbtswblcbbebosbolltloto blscbotoctetbovebtooqbtblmtbete,ooJlotbeottooqemeotofblsllfetbetelsoo elemeotofcbooce,botolllstbetesoltofolowwblcbcooootett.1blslsjostosttoeof tbosewbofeelootofbotmooywltbtbeltsottoooJloqsosoftbosewboote cooteoteJ wltb tbem (Alleo, 14). 1hlsls[usLasLrue,evenlfyoufeel'ouLofharmony'wlLhyoursurroundlngs.lnoLherwords, you may Lhlnk you haLe your clrcumsLances, buL on a subconsclous level, you feel rlghL aL home. ?ou musL change whaL ls happenlng ln your mlnd, consclously and subconsclously, so LhaL your surroundlngswlllbeglnLoreflecLLhellfeyouwoot,lnsLeadofLhellfeyouhave.Pow?8ead on. SowhaLaresomeofLheselawsofourbelng,"anyway?1hlsbookwllldlscussLhefollowlng sevenlaws.1heseareLhenamesbywhlchllearnedLhem.AlLhoughlhaveseenLhemcalled dlfferenL Lhlngs, Lhese are Lhe Lerms l wlll use:All about laws PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 14 1he Law of erpeLual 1ransmuLaLlon 1he Law of 8elaLlvlLy 1he Law of vlbraLlon 1he Law of olarlLy 1he Law of 8hyLhm 1he Law of Cause and LffecL 1he Law of Cender/CesLaLlon WhllellearnedLheseldeasfrom8obrocLor,founderofLlfeSuccessroducLlons,hewlllbe LheflrsLLoLellyouLhaLLheyweren'LhlsorlglnalldeaselLher.PavlngbeenavlceresldenLof Sales for Lhe nlghLlngale-ConanL CorporaLlon many years ago, he drew from hls LhlrLy years of sLudy and reduced Lhe besL of Lhe besL ldeas Lo Lhelr slmplesL and mosL preclse form. lollowlng ls my own splrlLual angle on a few of hls Leachlngs. 1hlnk of Lhese laws as Lools ln your Loolbox." Lvery slLuaLlon you face LhroughouL your llfe can be dealL wlLh successfully by reachlng lnLo your Loolbox and selecLlng Lhe rlghL law on whlch Lo focus aL Lhe Llme. 1hls ls how englneers and lnvenLors operaLe: Lhey know Lhe laws of physlcs. lf Lhey wanL a masslve hunk of meLal Lo sall Lhrough Lhe alr for Lhousands of mlles wlLhouL falllng, Lhey don'L have a panlc aLLack abouL Lhe law of gravlLy, raLher, Lhey respecLfully seL lL aslde and lnsLeadfocusLhelraLLenLlononLhelawsofaerodynamlcs.lormany,manyyears,Lhehuman race was compleLely unaware of Lhe laws governlng alr Lravel. 1he laws were always Lhere, and alwaysavallableforourbeneflL.8uLunLllourawarenesswashelghLenedLoundersLandLhe laws, we were grounded, so Lo speak. ?ou'll dlscover Lhere's no reason Lo geL all crazy when someLhlng ln your llfe seems Lo be falllng aparL,you'llslmplyrundownyourllsLoflawsandfocusonLheoneLhaLkeepsyourmasslve hunk of meLal salllng Lhrough Lhe alr, lf you wlll. ?ou'll Lhlnk on Lhe laws LhaL keep you falLhful and producLlve aL Lhe Llme. SclenLlsLsemployLra[ecLorylawsandLhelawofgravlLy,(keeplngLhemlnperfecLbalance)ln order Lo keep a saLelllLe ln orblL, buL dlsregard laws relaLed Lo frlcLlon because Lhey are slmply lrrelevanL Lo Lhe Lask aL hand. lL would be a wasLe of energy Lo be concerned abouL how much frlcLlon wlll be presenL upon re-enLry lf Lhey oevet lnLend Lo brlng lL back Lo earLh. 8y Lhe same Loken, when we are experlenclng a cerLaln challenge, lL ls up Lo us Lo Lhlnk only of Lhe laws LhaL helpusaLLheLlme.WemusLnoLgeLworkedupabouLoLherlawsLhaLhavenopracLlcal appllcaLlonLoourproblem.lLhlnkyou'llknowwhaLlmeanaswegeLlnLoLhelawsmore deeply.All about laws PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 15 now, lf you're up for some fun, Lake a momenL here Lo play a llLLle lnLeracLlve game, whlch you mayhaveseenbefore.lLwlllbeyour[obLoflndallnumbers,1-60lnsequenLlalorderonLhe screen. 1urn on your compuLer and go Lo Lhe number Search llnk aL Pldden1reasures8ook.com. When you're done, reLurn Lo Lhe ebook. Welcome back! uo you see how useful an undersLandlng of laws can be? Cood! (uon'L worry lf you dldn'L geL Lo play Lhe game, you'll sLlll geL Lhe polnL by readlng Lhe book.) now, l'm here Lo leLyouknowLhaLLhereareevenmotelawsLhaLgovernotbetmysLerles.8ecomlngawareof LhemlsLheflrsLllberaLlngsLepLofreedom.lLreallylsn'LallLhaLcompllcaLed.lnfacL,lL'sso slmple LhaL many people have dlsregarded Lhe ldeas as too slmple Lo be of any slgnlflcance. Ch, how famlllar tbot scenarlo ls! 1ake a momenL Lo remember Lhe sLory from Lxodus of Moses and Lhe brass serpenL: AoJ tbe lotJ seot flety setpeots omooq tbe people, ooJ tbey blt tbe people, ooJ mocb people of lstoel JleJ.AoJ tbe lotJ solJ ooto Moses, Moke tbee o flety setpeot, ooJ set lt opooopole.ooJltsbollcometoposs,tbotevetyooetbotlsbltteo,wbeobelooketb opoo lt, sboll llve (Nombets 21.6, 8). AllLheyhadLodowaslook,buLmanypeopledledbecauseLheyLhoughLLheremedywasLoo slmple. So lL ls wlLh Lhe prlnclples of prosperlLy. 1hey are slmple, buL powerful enough Lo make a slgnlflcanL dlfference ln your llfe. 1hegoallsLokeepyourLhoughLswhereLheyneedLobe,foryourLhoughLsshapeyour clrcumsLances. ?our helghLened awareness of Lhese laws alone wlll change Lhe way you Lhlnk, and Lhe effecLs of a helghLened awareness wlll be felL even before you flnlsh readlng Lhls book. nlJJeo1teosotesdoesnoLclalmLoLeacheveryLhlngLherelsLoknowonLhesub[ecL. neverLheless, lL should be sufflclenL lnformaLlon Lo help you make some slgnlflcanL changes ln yourllfe.AsyoulearnandapplyyourknowledgeofLheselaws,you'llflndgreaLer[oylnyour sLruggles,havedeeperfalLhlnCodandhlspromlses,andfeelagreaLermeasureofpeaceln whaL Lhe fuLure has ln sLore for you.Lesson 1: Law of perpetual transmutation 16 1heLawoferpeLual1ransmuLaLlon."1haL's[usLafancywayofsaylngLhaLeveryLhlngls elLher comlng lnLo physlcal form or golng ouL of lL. lorexample,waLercangofromlnvlslblehumldlLyorvaporlnLhealr,Lovlslbleclouds,Lo Langlble raln, Lo someLhlng even as solld as lce. AL any polnL durlng Lhe waLer's LransformaLlon, Lheprocesscanreverse.AclouddoesnoLnecessarllyLurnLoraln.SomeLlmeslLdlsappears agaln lnLo Lhe clear blue sky. 8alnfall doesn'L always Lurn Lo lce, someLlmes lL slmply evaporaLes agaln and dlsappears lnLo Lhe alr, (flg. 3). So now Lhlnk abouL an ldea of prosperlLy. erhaps for you, prosperlLy would mean more famlly Llme. A famlly plcLure as you are posed ln fronL of Lhe LgypLlan yramlds could represenL your ldeaofprosperlLy.?ouseeyourselfandyourfamllymemberswlLhyou,huddledLogeLher, smlllng, wlLh Lhe pyramlds ln Lhe background. nowpuLyourselflnLheplcLure,andseeLhephoLographerLaklnglL.?oufeelLhesunbeaLlng down on you, and Lhe dusL blowlng by ln Lhe mlld, whlsLllng breeze. 1here ls laughLer from your chlld or grandchlld. ?ou hear Lhe phoLographer Lell your group Lo hold sLlll and say, Mummy!" And Lhen you can plcLure Lhe group dlsassembllng, and walklng back Lo Lhe Lour bus. Cr camel. Ate yoo tbltsty? wbot woolJ yoo llke? 1hlsslLuaLlonmaybecomparedLoLhechanglngformsofwaLer.1heslLuaLlonhasnoL manlfesLed lLself ln Lhe physlcal world yeL ([usL as vapor ls noL yeL raln), buL for a momenL, Lhe clrcumsLances requlred Lo make LhaL slLuaLlon a reallLy were acLually beglnnlng Lo gaLher, as a cloudgaLherslnLhesky.lfyouwereLoholdonLoLhaLldea,andpursueLhegoalwlLhflrm deLermlnaLlon, and noL Lhrow lL ouL wlLh dlsbellef or apaLhy, Lhen evenLually, lL would happen ln real llfe. 8ellef keeps Lhe ldea cloud" gaLherlng unLll lL ls so heavy LhaL Lhe raln musL begln Lo fall:LheclrcumsLancesyouneedbeqlotopteseottbemselves.!usLllkewaLerLhaLcanchange from an lnvlslble Lo vlslble sLaLe, so can Lhe LgypLlan vacaLlon ldea LransmuLe lLself lnLo reallLy. Powever,dlsbellefandapaLhywlll,bylaw,causeLhecloudofyourldeaLodlsslpaLebacklnLo Lhe clear blue sky, (flg. 6). 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 17 In this illustration, we see that water takes many forms on its way from being invisible to solid. The process can reverse at any point along the way: llg. 3 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 18 Our idea takes many forms on its way from being non-existent to being part of our reality in our physical world. Again, the process can reverse at any point along the way: llg. 6 1: perpetual transmutation 19 lrom our perspecLlve, flgures 3 and 6 are an lllusLraLlon of Lhe process Lhrough whlch Lhe Lhlngs and clrcumsLances we deslre come Lo us. 1he phoLograph ln fronL of Lhe pyramlds may noL be lnyourscrapbookrlghLnow,buLaLLheveryleasLlLhasmovedfrombelngnon-exlsLenL"Lo belng an ldea." 1haL's a sLarL! 1heLawof1ransmuLaLlonsLaLesLhaLeveryLhlng,everyob[ecL,everyclrcumsLance,eLc.,ls consLanLly developlng lnLo form or dlsslpaLlng ouL of form. When you declde Lo dlscard an ldea, lL ceases Lo develop and beglns Lo dlsslpaLe. 8rlgham?oung,LhepresldenLofLheChurchof!esusChrlsLofLaLLer-daySalnLsbacklnLhe mlddle1800'sspokeabouLwhaLhebellevedlLwlllbellkewhenwe[olnLheSplrlLWorld.ln dolng so, he revealed a powerful LruLh LhaL puLs Lhese ldeas lnLo perspecLlve. Pe sald: lf we woot to vlslt Ietosolem, ot tbls, tbot, ot tbe otbet ploce-ooJ l ptesome we wlll be petmltteJlfweJeslte-tbeteweote,lookloqotltsstteets.lfwewoottobebolJ Ietosolem os lt wos lo tbe Joys of tbe 5ovlot, ot lf we woot to see tbe CotJeo of Jeo os ltwoswbeocteoteJ,tbeteweote,ooJweseeltosltexlsteJspltltoolly,fotltwos cteoteJ fltst spltltoolly ooJ tbeo tempotolly, ooJ spltltoolly lt stlll temolos (1eocbloqs of tbe lteslJeots of tbe cbotcb, 8klCnAM OuNC, 5olt loke clty, utob. 1be cbotcb of Iesos cbtlst of lottet-Joy 5olots, p. 281). AnoLher way Lo look aL Lhls law ls Lo conslder anyLhlng llvlng. All llvlng Lhlngs are elLher growlng ordlslnLegraLlng.AbodysLarLsouLlnvlslble,buLlfyouaskanypregnanLwoman,she'llsay Lhere's one comlng. Ask any old man lf bls body ls comlng or golng, and he wlll Lell you LhaL hls eyeslghLlsgolng,andLhaLhlsablllLyLoremembermayalreadybegone.lnshorL,hels dlslnLegraLlng.Weallare,oncewehavereachedourprlme.WeareonourwaybackLoan lnvlslble" sLaLe. WhaL abouL an acorn ln your hand? ls lL growlng or dlslnLegraLlng? lt ls Jlsloteqtotloq, because lLlsn'LlnLherlghLenvlronmenLforgrowLh.8uLanacornlnLhegroundlsqtowloq.WlLhLhe rlghL condlLlons, one day lL wlll become an oak Lree. ldeasareLhlngs,Loo.AnldealnlLsbeglnnlngsLaLelslnvlslblelnLhephyslcalworld.1herlghL envlronmenLforanldealsourmlnd.PeldLherelongenough,lLbeglnsLomovefromLhe lnvlslble Lo Lhe vlslble world. 8ooLed ouL of our mlnd by doubL or apaLhy, Lhe ldea ls drawn back lnLo an eLherlc sLaLe, Lo remaln lnvlslble forever. 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 20 Pow many Llmes do you have an ldea of prosperlLy, and for a momenL you can plcLure yourself llvlng abundanLly, and Lhen Lhe ldea goes away because you brush lL aslde as lmpracLlcal? So long as you held Lhe LhoughL ln your mlnd, everyLhlng you needed was, by law, beglnnlng Lo be drawn Lo you. When you leL go of Lhe ldea, all Lhose Lhlngs were drawn away from you. ?ou neversawevldenceofLhesechangesLaklngplace,soyouhadnoldeaLhaLwhaLyoudeslred was belng affecLed by your LhoughLs. 1hlnk abouL your ldea as someLhlng LhaL exlsLs ln splrlL, and see lL LransmuLlng, gaLherlng all Lhe elemenLs lL needs, unLll lL manlfesLs on Lhe physlcal plane.When seLLlng lofLy goals, LrusL LhaL Lhe way wlll show up. even Lhough lL usually only shows up oftet you make Lhe commlLmenL Lo reach Lhe goal. An ldea held ln Lhe rlghL envlronmenL (your mlnd) wlll begln Lo Lake form. lL ls only ln Lhe lost stoqe of Lhe process LhaL you wlll see" lL. uo noL reverse Lhe process wlLh doubL or fear. 8ellef and falLh brlng lL lnLo form, doubL and fear reLurn lL Lo Lhe lnvlslble. SlLuaLlons,evenLs,andLhlngsareerpeLually1ransmuLlng."1heyareconsLanLlycomlngor golngfromorLowardLhephyslcalplane,buLwe[usLdon'LseelLhappenlng,solLlsnaLurally easyLodoubL.?oumusLbelleveLhlslaw,andyouwlllbeableLohaveLhefalLhyouneedLo hold Lhe ldea ln your mlnd unLll you see frulLlon. ln facL, l've noLlced LhaL many Llmes l wlll have a LhoughL whlch l may enLerLaln for a whlle, and lmaglne how lL would feel lf lL should come Lrue, buL Lhen llfe goes on and l forgeL Lhe slLuaLlon lhadlmaglned.WlLhouLconsclouslydlscardlngLheldeaaLsomepolnLalongLhewayas lmposslble,manyLlmeslhavefoundLheslLuaLloncameLrue,allonlLsown,evenLhoughl hadn'L spenL a whole loL of Llme Lrylng Lo make lL happen. l suppose LhaL seed was of a varleLy LhaLdldn'LrequlreawholeloLofaLLenLlon,llkeapalmLreelnLhedeserL.1heseedhadbeen planLedandnC1uprooLed,LhereforelLgrew.AllonlLsown,lLgrew.AlllhadLodowas lmaglne lL, feel Lhe emoLlon l expecLed Lo feel, and Lhen leL lL grow by leavlng lL alone, doubLlng noL. 1olllusLraLehowmuchcanhappenwlLhouLconsclousefforL,anauLhorbyLhenameofur. 8aymond n. Polllwell ln a book called wotkloq wltb tbe low puL lL Lhls way: lo some lostooces, tesolts tbot seem olmost moqlcol wlll oppeot. Ofteo wbete tbete bos beeooJeep,looqloqJesltefotopottlcolotqooJwltbooexpectotlooofltsteollzotloo, tbe oJJltloo of octloo wlll flolsb tbe ptocess wltb tbe bopplest tesolts. 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 21 ?es,acLlonlsparLofLheformulaforsure.8uLwhllelLlsbyacLlonyourecelvelL,Lheunseen helpyouneedlsonlydrawnLoyoubyfalLh.AcLlonwlLhouLfalLhcanbellkerunnlngona Lreadmlll whlle expecLlng Lo evenLually arrlve somewhere lmporLanL. AlLhough lL can be Lough Lo comprehend lL, slnce all we can really see ls our physlcal world, lL ls lmporLanL aL Lhls polnL LhaL you accepL Lhe more absLracL ldeas as facL. !usL as we cannoL see" Lhe vlbraLlng molecules ln a rock, we have learned Lo accepL Lhe facL LhaL Lhere ote molecules, andLhaLLheyJovlbraLe.SoLrusLmeonLhlsone,andfromherewe'llbeableLobulldsome very powerful ldeas Lo explaln Lhe mysLery behlnd prosperlLy. CooJtbooqbtsooJoctlooscoooevetptoJoceboJtesolts,boJtbooqbtsooJoctloos coooevetptoJoceqooJtesolts,(Alleo,24).Meolmoqloetbottbooqbtcoobekept sectet,botltcoooot.lttoplJlyctystolllzeslotoboblt,ooJbobltsollJlflesloto cltcomstooce (Alleo, 28). In the beg|nn|ng, a|| th|ngs were f|rst an |dea |n God's m|nd. 1herelsanorlglnalformlesssubsLanceormaLLer"fromwhlchallLhlngsarecreaLed,andlL exlsLsLhroughouLLheunlverse.AsWallaceu.WaLLlessLaLeslnhls100year-oldclasslc,1be 5cleoce of Cettloq klcb. 1bete ls o tblokloq stoff ftom wblcb oll tbloqs ote moJe, ooJ wblcb, lo lts otlqlool stote, petmeotes,peoettotes,ooJflllstbelotetspocesoftbeoolvetse(wottles,wolloceu. 1996. 1be 5cleoce of Cettloq klcb. lboeolx. llfe 5occess ltoJoctloos, p. 18). 1he momenL a LhoughL ls held ln Lhe mlnd, Lhe formless subsLance obedlenLly organlzes lLself Lo reflecL LhaL LhoughL. ln due course, Lhe orlglnal subsLance goes from formless Lo havlng a splrlL form,whlchreflecLsLhecharacLerlsLlcsofLhelmageheldlnLhemlnd.lbelleveallLhlngsLhaL arephyslcalwereflrsLcreaLedsplrlLuallyLhlsway.PeldlnLhemlndlongenoughwlLhLhe unwaverlng bellef LhaL lL wlll manlfesL lLself ln physlcal form, by law, lL ls creaLed splrlLually and evenLually lL comes Lo us physlcally. 8y law lL musL. As we use our LhoughLs consLrucLlvely, we are acLlng as co-creaLors wlLh Cod, helplng Lo brlng order and form Lo Lhe formless subsLance. 8elleflsanemoLlon,whlchspeedsLhecreaLlveprocesswhlledoubLreLurnsanldeaLoa formless sLaLe. So lf you deslre someLhlng or a clrcumsLance LhaL ls good and ln harmony wlLh Cod's deslres for you, hold Lhe ldea of lL ln your mlnd, bellevlng LhaL lL ls belng creaLed and ls on lLsway.1heorlglnalsubsLancelsobedlenLLoLheLawoferpeLual1ransmuLaLlonandLhe lnfluences of bellef and doubL. Cod undersLands Lhls law perfecLly and uses lL Lo accompllsh hls purposesaswell.lLlsmypersonalbellefhecommandsLheveryelemenLsLhlsway.lbelleve 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 22 LhlslshowheorganlzedourworldlnLhebeglnnlng.PoweverhedoeslL,l'mgraLefulforLhe concepLbecauselLhelpsmehavefalLhlnhlspower.lLbelpsmebovefoltb,whlchlspreclsely whaL he requlres of me before he granLs my requesLs for hls blesslngs. (Many people of dlfferenL falLhs may say LhaL he esLabllshed Lhe laws, oLhers say Lhe laws have alwaysexlsLedandheusesLhemforhlspurposes.lLdoesnoLmaLLerwhlchwaywebelleve, Lhese laws can be employed regardless.) 8ead Lhe followlng passages now wlLh Lhls new perspecLlve: Ask lo foltb, ootbloq wovetloq (!ames 1:6). uellqbt tbyself olso lo tbe lotJ, ooJ be sboll qlve tbee tbe Jesltes of tbloe beott. commlt tby woy ooto tbe lotJ, ttost olso lo blm, ooJ be sboll btloq lt to poss (salms 37:4-3). AoJ oll tbloqs, wbotsoevet ye sboll osk lo ptoyet, bellevloq, ye sboll tecelve (MaLLhew 21:22). wbotsoevettbloqyesbollosklofoltb,bellevloqtbotyesbolltecelvelotbeoomeof cbtlst, ye sboll tecelve lt (Lnos 1:13). wbotsoevet tbloq ye sboll osk tbe lotbet lo my oome, wblcb ls qooJ, lo foltb bellevloq tbot ye sboll tecelve, bebolJ, lt sboll be Jooe ooto yoo (Moronl 7:26). Clearly, ln order Lo be prepared Lo recelve hls blesslngs, we musL be sLrlvlng Lo follow Lhe Lord's example of llvlng a pure llfe. MusL we already be perfecL? no, buL l belleve we musL be polnLed sLeadfasLly ln LhaL dlrecLlon. What |s fa|th? We learn LhroughouL Lhe scrlpLures how desLrucLlve Lhe emoLlons of doubL and fear can be. Cn Lhe oLher hand, we've been LaughL how powerful falLh can be. lalLh ls:

1.Seelng Lhe resulLs ln your mlnd as Lhough Lhey were already reallzed,2.leellng Lhe [oy now LhaL you expecL Lo feel Lhen, and Lhen 3.rovlng your falLh by Laklng acLlon. 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 23 8emember LhaL when you do Lhls, you are seLLlng ln moLlon unseen forces Lo prepare Lhe way for your success. knowledge of Lhls law of erpeLual 1ransmuLaLlon helps us malnLaln our falLh. We learn LhaL bellevlng ls seelng," noL Lhe oLher way around. WhaL lf we humbly and slncerely tblok abouL and vlsuallze whaL we are asklng for? WhaL lf we allowed ourselves Lo really feel graLlLude for whaL we need, even before lL ls wlLh us, as Lhough he has already granLed Lhe deslres of our hearL? 1bot, my frlends, ls falLh. 8oyd k. acker, resldenL of Lhe Cuorum of Lhe 1welve AposLles of Lhe Church of !esus ChrlsL of LaLLer-daySalnLs,provldesaclarlfylngexplanaLlonLohelpusundersLandLhedlfference beLweenLhefalLhweexerclseonadallybasls,andLhemorerareklndoffalLhLhaLweare lnvlLed Lo develop. Pe sLaLes: 1here are Lwo klnds of falLh. Cne of Lhem funcLlons ordlnarlly ln Lhe llfe of every soul. lL lsLheklndoffalLhbornbyexperlence,lLglvesuscerLalnLyLhaLanewdaywllldawn, LhaLsprlngwlllcome,LhaLgrowLhwlllLakeplace.lLlsLheklndoffalLhLhaLrelaLesus wlLh confldence Lo LhaL whlch ls scheduled Lo happen. . 1here ls anoLher klnd of falLh, rare lndeed. 1hls ls Lhe klnd of falLh LhaL causes Lhlngs Lo happen.lLlsLheklndoffalLhLhaLlsworLhyandpreparedandunyleldlng,andlLcalls forLh Lhlngs LhaL oLherwlse would noL be. lL ls Lhe klnd of falLh LhaL moves people. lL ls Lhe klnd of falLh LhaL someLlmes moves Lhlngs. . lLcomesbygradualgrowLh.lLlsamarvelous,evenaLranscendenL,power,apoweras realandaslnvlslbleaselecLrlclLy.ulrecLedandchanneled,lLhasgreaLeffecL"(loltb ooJ nope poote by 8oyJ k. locket, 8ook of Motmoo 5toJeot Mooool, 2009, p. 222-J1 8y lotellectool kesetve, loc.). now to pray w|th fa|th LeL's reflecL on how we generally approach Cod ln prayer. uo we go Lo Plm, feellng frusLraLed and upseL LhaL he hasn'L meL our needs yeL, and beq hlm Lo pleose glve us whaL we ask for, all LhewhllehardlybellevlnghelsllsLenlng,leLalonegeLLlngreadyLogranLourrequesL?uowe flnd ourselves complalnlng more Lhan expresslng graLlLude? uo we feel weary LhaL lL has Laken hlm SCCC long Lo make Lhe changes we wanL ln our llfe? 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 24 WhaLlfhewastlqbttbete,readywlLhLhaLwhlchwedeslre,preparedLohandlLLousLhe momenLorsoonafLerweapproachhlmwlLhLherlghLaLLlLude:wlLhagraLefulandpaLlenL hearL, genulnely bellevlng we'll recelve lL because we have already deLermlned Lhrough slncere prayerLhaLlLlsadeslrewhlchlslnllnewlLhhlswlllforus?(Aprocesswe'lldlscussmore exLenslvely ln a momenL.) lmaglneoneofyourchlldrenapproachlngyouwlLhgraLlLudeforLhesandwlchLheyhopeLo recelve from you. 1hey are already llcklng Lhelr llps as Lhough lL was already ln Lhelr hands, and LheyonlyaskoncewlLhouLaquesLlonofwheLherornoLyoumlghLrefuseLhem.1heyhave hope and eager anLlclpaLlon ln Lhelr eyes. rovlded Lhere wasn'L a good teosoo Lo refuse, you'd glve Lhem whaL Lhey ask. Cn Lhe oLher hand, whaL lf a chlld approached you whlnlng, lleeeeoooose l need a sandwlch! l'm sooooooo hungry! Why boveot you already glven me a sooJwlcb!? ?ou koew l was golng Lo be hungry, where's my sandwlch?!" uo you blame me for Lhlnklng Lhere's no woy l should reward a chlld for such lngraLlLude? 1haL chlld,lfhewerelnmyfamlly,wouldgohungryunLllhechangedhlsapproach.uolhavea sandwlch Lo glve? ?es. uo l wanL Lhe chlld Lo have lL? Cf course! Can l glve lL Lo hlm lf he asks lmproperly? noL lf l'm a good parenL. now, whaL lf Lhe chlld, lnsLead of saylng, lleose glve me a sandwlch," sald, wlll yoo glve me a sandwlch," and slmply walL for a reply? A slmple, dlrecL, expecLanL quesLlon llke LhaL ls easy Lo answer yes" or no". Pow sllly lL would be (lf l sald, yes,") for LhaL chlld Lo conLlnue begglng for a sandwlch! 1hlslllusLraLlonbrlngsupLwopolnLs.CneaddressesLheklndsofquesLlonsweask,andLhe oLher ls abouL valn repeLlLlons. es]No uest|ons llrsL of all, when you pray for someLhlng, conslder asklng yes/no quesLlons. Ask lf lL's a worLhy deslre and leL hlm speak peace Lo you lf lL ls. lf you experlence a sLupor of LhoughL whlch causes you Lo forgeL your quesLlon, Lry poslng an alLernaLlve requesL. Powever, lf you do feel Lhe peace you're seeklng, you may Lhen declde Lo ask, ls lL opptoptlote for me Lo ask wheLher or noL Lhou wllL granL lL?" lf you agaln feel peace, Lhen conslder asklng dlrecLly, wllt tboo do Lhls for me?" 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 25 LlsLen or feel for an answer of peace, or lnsLead, LhaL sLupor, whlch llLerally causes you Lo forgeL whaL lL was LhaL you were asklng for ln Lhe flrsL place. (1hroughouLLhlsprocess,walLlngforananswerlsLhepollteLhlngLodowhenasklngCoda quesLlon - or anyone else for LhaL maLLer!) lreallzeLhaLevenafLerwerecelveawlLness,orconflrmaLlon,lLcanbeachallengeLoguard agalnsLdoubLful,negaLlveLhoughLs,AnudlsmlssLhemaslrrelevanL.8uLLhaLlsexacLlywhaL we need Lo do. What |f a recogn|zab|e answer doesn't come? SomeLlmesweslmplyhaveLodeLermlneonourownwheLherornoLLhegoallsapproprlaLe. 1hen we musL make a declslon, and go for lL.llearnedapowerfullessononedayfromachurchspeakerLhaLaLLlmesweproceedso LenLaLlvely, LhaL by Lhe Llme we reallze we're on Lhe wrong paLh, lL's Loo laLe Lo flx lL. lnsLead, lf wewouldmoveforwardwlLhresolveddeLermlnaLlonandconvlcLlon,andlfweoteonLhe wrongpaLh,LhenaLleasLwe'dbeableLodlscoverourerrorearlyenoughLomakeLhe approprlaLe course correcLlon. We'd do beLLer Lo Lake acLlon based on our own besL [udgmenL Lhan Lo walL unLll we're Lold exacLly whaL Lo do aL every Lurn.1hlnkabouLlL:howcanLheLorddlrecLourcourselfwe'renoLevenonone?SomeLlmesLhe Lord'swllllsnoLapparenLunLllaperlodofLlmeoftetwe'vedemonsLraLedaresolved commlLmenL Lo a parLlcular paLh. As Lhey say, you can'L sLeer a parked car. l remember a Llme when my husband and l had a burnlng deslre Lo move our famlly back Lo our home sLaLe. l had recenLly learned Lhe laws and Lruly belleved LhaL l could have anyLhlng l asked for. lor years we prayed Lo be able Lo move, and felL good every Llme we presenLed Lhe ldea Lo Lhe Lord. And yeL Lhere we remalned. 1hlnklng LhaL all we lacked was resolved commlLmenL, we flnally declded Lo [usL make lL happen and flgure Lhe deLalls ouL along Lhe way. So we puL our Callfornla house up for sale and made anofferonahomelnArlzona,whlchwasaccepLedandpuLunderconLracL.Wesaldour goodbyesandplannedLohavemyhusbandcommuLeonLheweekendsunLllhefoundanew [ob closer Lo home. (8esldes, Lhe one-hour plane rlde would have been a fasLer commuLe Lhan Lhe 2x hours Lhrough Los Angeles Lrafflc!) 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 26 ConLraryLoourexpecLaLlons,our$136,000housewouldnoLsell.WeekafLerweekwe wondered whaL we were dolng wrong. llnally, we Look Lhe maLLer Lo Lhe Lord agaln, Lhls Llme wlLh new quesLlons. We were cerLaln LhaL lL was Lhe rlghL Lhlng Lo do- buL perhaps Lhe wrong Llme.AssoonasweaskedlfweshouldsLayawhllelonger,worklngLogeLourduckslnarow [usLallLLlebeLLer,andlnsLeadmakeLhemovelnacoupleyears,wefelLLhewarm,assurlng feellng of peace LhaL Lold us we were on Lhe rlghL Lrack. AlLhoughlLhoughLlLcouldLakeLwoorLhreemoreyearsLobeready,lnonlyelghLmore monLhswefelLLheSplrlLdlrecLusLhaLLheLlmewasrlghL,andourhomesoldfor$140,000 mote Lhan whaL we coolJot geL for lL, only elghL monLhs before. 1hepolnLls,LhaLeveryLlmeweaskedabouLmovlngLoArlzona,wefelLpeace.8uLslnceCod dldn'LsendawhlrlwlndLoplckusupandpuLusLhere,wehadLoworkouLLhedeLalls,and whenwedldn'LgeLanyconcreLeanswersonewayoranoLher,wehadLomakeourown declslon and Lake acLlon. lLwasn'LunLllafLercommlLLlngLoourdeclslonLhaLwefelLLheLordsLeplnandsLeerusa dlfferenL way. We felL llke we were ln llmbo geLLlng no concreLe dlrecLlon unLll oftet we chose a paLh. lf we had sLayed puL, we wouldn'L have oeeJeJ dlrecLlon, because we were already dolng whaL he wanLed us Lo do ln Lhe flrsL place. We [usL dldn'L know lL yeL. Why we pray often As lmporLanL as lL ls LhaL we sLrlve Lo geL our mlnds and hearL ln allgnmenL wlLh Lhe Lord's, our reason for praylng ofLen ls lmporLanL as well: WemusLprayofLenabouLourdeslre,noLLobesurehebeotJos,buLLoaskforconLlnual guldanceandseekfotootselvesLheconflrmaLlonfromhlsSplrlLtbotweteootbetlqbtpotb ooJ tbot be wlll qtoot tbe soccess we seek. A conflrmaLlon ls one of Lhose Lender mercles, whlch Lhe SplrlL someLlmes provldes Lo help us be sLrong Lhrough Lhe walLlng perlod. 8emember, lf my chlld asks me for a sandwlch and l say, ?es,"lLwouldbeouLofplaceforherLoaskagaln.SolLlswlLhus.AfLerrecelvlnga conflrmaLlonLhaLourrequesLwlllbegranLed,LocootlooeasklngforLhesameLhlngwould seemlnapproprlaLe.lbelleveLhaLmayconsLlLuLeoneaspecLofLhevalnrepeLlLlons"Lhe scrlpLures counsel us agalnsL. 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 27 Va|n kepet|t|ons LeL's look aL how ofLen we ask. When we pray for someLhlng, do we use valn repeLlLlons? (See MaLLhew 6:7) erhaps we've done so unknowlngly. erhaps you have a deslre for whlch you've askedLheLordLlmeandLlmeagaln,hoplngLhaLyourperslsLencewouldpayoff.Whenmy chlldren do LhaL Lo me, l call lL nagglng-especlolly lf l've [usL responded wlLh a yes", wlLhouL havlng a chance Lo dellver lL yeL. lL would be perplexlng for my chlld Lo ask agaln and agaln afLer recelvlng a poslLlve response. l'd wonder,uon'Lyoubelleveme?uldn'Lyouhearme?"!usLbecauselsayyes,lLdoesn'Lmean LhaL lL has Lo happen ln Lhe nexL LhlrLy seconds! 1here ls a space of Llme beLween ?es" and Lhe dellvery of Lhe promlsed sandwlch. lL's a reasonable Lhlng Lo allow some Llme for Lhe goods Lo show up. So,whaLlfweaskedonce,wlLhahearLfulloffalLh,knowlngLhaLLoaskagalnmlghLbewhaL Lhe Lord refers Lo as a valn repeLlLlon? AfLer all, he already heard us Lhe flrsL Llme, and ln facL, knew whaL we needed long before we ever uLLered Lhe prayer. lf we Look Lhe Llme Lo flrsL ask lf hewouldgranLLherequesL,andlfwerecelvedananswerofpeace,Lhenwouldn'LlLbe unnecessary Lo keep asklng? erhapslnsLeadwecouldbeaLpeace,knowlnglLwasonlyamaLLerofLlme,becauseLhaL whlch we asked for was already on lLs way. 1hen we'd begln Lo move our feeL and geL Lo work as Lhough lL depended on us. (We'd make our way Lo Lhe lunch Lable, and maybe even geL Lhe bread ouL of Lhe breadbox and [elly from Lhe refrlgeraLor ourselves.) We'd remlnd ourselves LhaL he sald, Ask and ye shall recelve", and slnce we asked, we'd know LhaLwewouldevenLuallyrecelve.Wewouldn'LfeeldesperaLe,orLhlnkLhaLourrepeaLed requesLswerenecessaryLogeLhlmLohearusandrespond.Ah,leLusbecareful,lesLwenag Lhe Lord. SomeLlmes we can weary hlm wlLh our peLlLlons, and even lf Lhey are oot hls wlll for us, he wlll granLLherequesLandallowusLosufferLhenaLuralconsequencesoffalllngLoLrusLhlmlnall Lhlngs. 8e careful whaL you pray for," as Lhey say, for you [usL mlghL geL lL." uoesLhlsmeanweshouldprayonlyonceforwhaLweneedordeslre?no,weareLopray conLlnually, over all Lhlngs. 1hen how do we avold valn repeLlLlons? 1: perpetual transmutation PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 28 AfLer maklng our requesL, and recelvlng a wlLness of peace, Lhen from Lhere, lnsLead of praylng tbot we mlqbt tecelve lt, lL would seem more flLLlng LhaL our conLlnual prayer would be prayers of qtotltoJe fot tbot wblcb ls comloq. l use my undersLandlng of Lhe Law of erpeLual 1ransmuLaLlon Lo lmaglne Lhe resources l need flndlng Lhelr way Lo me. 1hls helps me belleve LhaL lf l geL Lo work dolng all l can do, Lhere are unseen forces aL work as well, preparlng Lo provlde me wlLh all l need Lo accompllsh Lhe goal. l expecL Lo make LhaL happy connecLlon somewhere along Lhe way. lsn'L Lhls amazlng? lf you Lhlnk Lhe flrsL law was lnLrlgulng, jost wolt, lt qets bettet! Lesson 2: Law of Relativity 29 CccaslonallyweflndourselveslndlsagreeableclrcumsLances.lLlsnaLuralLoLhlnk,Myllfe sLlnks, everyLhlng's golng wrong." Well, don'L forgeL Lesson 1, Lhe Law of erpeLual 1ransmuLaLlon. 1hese are LhoughLs, Loo, and lf we allow ourselves Lo hold tbese klnds of LhoughLs ln our mlnd, and allow ourselves Lo belleve Lhem,Lhen,bylaw,LheformlesssubsLancesLarLsLobeobedlenLandevenLuallyyour clrcumsLances wlll be a reflecLlon of tbese LhoughLs. 1he Law of 8elaLlvlLy ls useful for helplng Lo keep good LhoughLs ln your mlnd. 1he Law of ke|at|v|ty states that noth|ng we exper|ence |s fundamenta||y good or bad. 8ad Lhlngs LhaL happen Lo us are only bad relaLlve Lo someLhlng beLLer. So, lf you are convlnced LhaLyouaredeallngwlLharoLLenclrcumsLance,LhenaskCodLohelpyouseelLdlfferenLly. CompareyourslLuaLlonLosomeLhlngmuchworse,andyouwlllbeableLomalnLalnmore falLhful LhoughLs. 1haL ls Lhe goal. SomeofLheearllesLploneerseLLlersofLheAmerlcanWesLLraveledwlLhhandcarLslnsLeadof horse-drawn carrlages. 1hey were rellglous refugees, seeklng a place where Lhey would noL be persecuLed for Lhelr bellefs. 1helr leaders had organlzed numerous groups Lo Lravel LogeLher. Whlle many came ln covered wagons, oLhers were shorL on Llme as well as supplles, and began Lhelr [ourney wlLh handcarLs. CneparLlcularcompanywascalledLheMarLlnPandcarLCompany,whlchwasorganlzedLo leave laLe ln Lhe summer from lowa. 1he members of Lhe company were caughL ln early snows nearLheConLlnenLalulvldeln1836beforebelngrescued,andLhelrsufferlngwasunllke anyLhlng l can comprehend. l wanL Lo Lake you on a plece of Lhelr [ourney. uL yourself ln Lhelr shoes. ay close aLLenLlon Lo yourfeellngsasyouvlsuallzewhaLyouarereadlng.lLlslmporLanLforLhlslessonLhaLyou concenLraLe as you read, raLher Lhan [usL sklmmlng Lhe words and glosslng over Lhem. 2: relativity PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 30 When Lhey say MoLher," Lhlnk of your owo moLher. When Lhey say l," leL lL be yoo, eLc. AL Lhe end of Lhls dlscusslon, we wlll be golng Lhrough an exerclse Lo help drlve Lhls law home. Slnce Lhls book ls lnLended Lo make a dlfference and slnce a dlfference ln your llfe relles on a swlLch lnyourLhlnklng,LherewlllneverbeabeLLerLlmeLhanrlghLhere,rlghLnowLottylL.racLlce exerclslng your menLal faculLles by vlsuallzlng and allowlng yourself Lo expetleoce whaL you are readlng. 1hls one Lhlng may be Lhe mosL lmporLanL Lhlng you do durlng Lhls Llme you're already lnvesLlng Lo read Lhls book. LeL's begln Lhe [ourney. Iohn k|rkman "8eforewelefLlowa,mydearMoLher[plcLureyootmoLher]hadglvenblrLhLoason,eLer [lmaglne a baby broLher, eLc.]. She was naLurally weak wlLh Lhe care of a nurslng baby and flve oLherchlldren.laLherwasweakfromwanLoffood,havlngdenledhlmselfforus.1heLerrlble sLralnofLhe[ourneywasLoomuchforhlmandonenlghL,nearLheSweeLwaLer,hepassed quleLly away aL Lhe age of 33. Cur llLLle broLher, eLer, dled Lhe same nlghL. 1hey bullL a flre Lo Lhaw Lhe ground so LhaL a grave could be dug, Lhen wlLh my baby broLher clasped ln hls arms, Lhey wrapped hlm ln a blankeL and lald hlm Lenderly away. My darllng MoLher had Lo Lake up Lhe [ourney alone wlLh us flve chlldren. rovlslons were almosL gone, desolaLlon relgned. "1he company passed off Lhe maln road Lo 'MarLln's 8avlne' Lo escape Lhe Lerrlble bllzzards and sLormsforwehadllLLlecloLhlngandhadglvenupallhope.ueaLhhadLakenaheavyLolland Lhe8avlnewasllkeanovercrowdedLomb.nomorLalLonguecoulddescrlbeLhesufferlng" (Cook,MaryLarsonklrkmanPuleL.1998.womooofloltbooJlottltoJe,uooqbtetsofutob llooeets, used wlLh permlsslon). L||zabeth Sermon "Myhusband'shealLhbeganLofallandhlshearLalmosLbrokenLoseemefalllnglnshafLs. Myselfandchlldrenhungry,almosLnaked,fooLsoreandhlmselfnearlydonefor.ManyLrlals cameafLerLhls.MyoldesLboyhadLhemounLalnfever,wehadLohaulhlmlnLhecarL,Lhere wasnoLroomlnLhewagon.CnedaywesLarLedhlmouLbeforeLhecarLslnLhemornlngLo walk wlLh Lhe aged and slck, buL we had noL gone far on our [ourney before we found hlm lylng by Lhe roadslde, unable Lo go any farLher. l plcked hlm up and puL hlm on my back and drew my carLaswell,buLcouldnoLmanagefar,sopuLhlmlnLhecarL,whlchmadeLhreechlldrenand my luggage. My husband falllng more each day, Lhe CapLaln puL a young man Lo help me for a shorL Llme. My oLher son Penry walked aL 7 years old, 1,300 mlles wlLh Lhe excepLlon of a few mlles. 2: relativity PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 31 "l wlll here sLaLe Lhere was no Llme ln crosslng Lhe rlvers Lo sLop and Lake off cloLhlng, buL we had Lo wade Lhrough and draw our carLs aL Lhe same Llme wlLh our cloLhes drlpplng weL... "My husband's sufferlngs have always palned me and l can never forgeL Lhem. oor 8ob's [age 3]feeLbeganLofreeze.lcannoLrememberLheplace,lLwasafLerwadlngaverydeeprlver [laLLe?] Lhe freezlng commenced. We had no wood buL sagebrush. l wenL ouL and cuL Lhe sage LokeepLheflreallnlghL.CoveredLhemupwlLhLhelrfeeLLoLheflreandcuLsomemoreand kepLLheflreaswellaslcould.MycloLhesfrozesLlff.Well,wegoLLhroughLhaLnlghL.?our faLher would noL walk now. Pe would geL lnLo wagon afLer wagon, only Lo be Lurned ouL. 1he caLLle were glvlng ouL and everyone had Lhelr frlends, buL Lhe frlend deaLh, would soon end hls sufferlngs. !ohn [age 9] and 8ob had Lo rlde, Penry [age 7] walked, your faLher would Lake my arm and walk a llLLle dlsLance, fall on hls knees wlLh weakness. We moved from uevll's CaLe. "AfLer our food had glven ouL as l sald before, we wenL lnLo our LenLs Lo dle. l always LhoughL l couldgeLLhroughLoSalLLakeClLyandlLrledLoencouragemyhusband,buLhewassLarvlng. Pe had always llved good aL home.. "?ourfaLherafLerhavlngsomefoodandcloLhes,seemedLorevlve.PecalledyouLohlmand Lold you Lo be good chlldren and Lo do all you could for me, and Lhen he sald Lo me, 'Cod bless you, Lll,' LhaL belng Lhe name he called me. '?ou have saved my llfe Lhls Llme.' l sald, 'We musL hold ouL now and geL Lo Lhe wagons,' buL we had Lo go back Lo Lhe 1/4 lb. of flour and he sank under lL. l Lhlnk he would noL have dled lf he had goL food, buL he was spared Lhe Lrlal ahead. We wenL Lo bed abouL 3:00. Pe puL hls arm around me and sald, 'l am done,' and breaLhed hls lasL. laLher was burled ln Lhe mornlng wlLh 2 more ln Lhe grave. l sLood llke a sLaLue, bewlldered, noL a Lear: Lhe cold chllls, even now as l wrlLe, creep over my body, for l feel l can sLlll see Lhe wolves walLlng for Lhelr bodles as Lhey would come down Lo camp before we lefL. WhenlgoLlnLocamplfoundlLsomehelpLoLoasLLherawhldeonLhecoalsandchewlL,lL helped Lo keep Lhe hunger away, for l was feellng lL raLher keenly now. l had Lo Lake a porLlon ofpoor8oberL'sfeeLoffwhlchplercedmyverysoul.lhadLoseverLheleaderswlLhapalrof sclssors. LlLLle dld l Lhlnk when l boughL Lhem ln old Lngland LhaL Lhey would be used for such a purpose.LverydaysomeporLlonwasdecaylngunLllLhepoorboy'sfeeLwereallgone.1hen !ohn's began Lo freeze, Lhen afLerwards my own.. oor 8roLher 8lalr, a very Lall Lhln man, he was sLarvlng and was eaLlng a plece of grlddle cake, anoLherpoorbroLher,noLashungryaskedforapleceoflL.Pesald,'lcannoLdolL,lwanLlL 2: relativity PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 32 myself.'oorfellowhedledlnLhenlghLandsooneafLeranoLherpassedaway.laLhers, moLhers, slsLers, broLhers and frlends, many, many honesL souls lald ln moLher earLh.. AseveresLormcameup.lLhlnklLwasonLheSweeLwaLer,buLlwassoLroubledlforgeLall abouLLhenamesofplaces.MyeldesLboy!ohn'sfeeLdecaylng,myboysboLhofLhemloslng Lhelrllmbs,LhelrfaLherdead,myownfeeLverypalnful,lLhoughL,'Whycan'Lldle?'"(Clazer, SLewarL L. and 8oberL S. Clark, eds., Iootool of tbe 1toll 2nd ed. [1997], 103-107, paragraphlng alLered. Peld ln Lhe !oel 8lcks collecLlon aL uLah SLaLe unlverslLy, used wlLh permlsslon.) Are you Laklng Llme Lo feel a porLlon of whaL Lhey felL? Cne more Lo go.. Lphra|m nanks "lreachedLhelll-faLedLraln[usLasLhelmmlgranLswerecamplngforLhenlghL.1heslghLLhaL meL my gaze as l enLered Lhelr camp can never be erased from my memory. 1he sLarved forms andhaggardcounLenancesofLhepoorsufferers,asLheymovedabouLslowly,shlverlngwlLh cold, Lo prepare Lhelr scanLy evenlng meal, was enough Lo Louch Lhe sLouLesL hearL. When Lhey saw me comlng, Lhey halled me wlLh [oy lnexpresslble, and when Lhey furLher beheld Lhe supply offreshmeaLlbroughLlnLocamp,LhelrgraLlLudeknewnobounds.llocklngaroundme,one wouldsay,'Ch,please,glvemeasmallpeaceofmeaL,'anoLherwouldexclalm,'Mypoor chlldrenaresLarvlng,doglvemeallLLle,'andchlldrenwlLhLearslnLhelreyeswouldcallouL, 'Clve me some, glve me some.' AL flrsL l Lrled Lo walL on Lhem and handed ouL Lhe meaL as Lhey calledforlL,buLflnallylLoldLhemLohelpLhemselves.llvemlnuLeslaLerboLhmyhorseshad been released of Lhelr exLra burden-Lhe meaL was all gone. "l have buL a very llLLle Lo say abouL Lhe sufferlngs of CapLaln MarLln's company before l [olned lL, buL lL had passed Lhrough Lerrlble ordeals. Women and Lhe larger chlldren helped Lhe men Lo pull Lhe hand-carLs, and ln crosslng Lhe frozen sLreams, Lhey had Lo break Lhe lce wlLh Lhelr feeL. lnfordlngLhelaLLe8lver,LhelargesLsLreamLheyhadLocrossafLerLhecoldweaLherseLln, Lhe cloLhes of Lhe lmmlgranLs were frozen sLlff around Lhelr bodles before Lhey could exchange Lhem for oLhers. 1hls ls supposed Lo have been Lhe cause of Lhe many deaLhs, whlch occurred soon afLerwards. lL has been sLaLed on good auLhorlLy LhaL nlneLeen lmmlgranLs dled one nlghL. "1he survlvors who performed Lhe lasL acLs of klndness Lo Lhose who perlshed, were noL sLrong enoughLodlgLhegravesofsufflclenLdepLhLopreserveLhebodlesfromLhewlldbeasLs,and wolves were acLually seen Learlng open Lhe graves before Lhe company was ouL of slghL. "ManyofLhesurvlvors,lnwlLnesslngLheLerrlbleaffllcLlonsandlosses,becameaLlasLalmosL sLupefledormenLallydazed."(Andrew!enson,1becoottlbotot,lebruary,1893,vol.xlL,pp. 2: relativity PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 33 202-3, as quoLed by SLewarL L. Clazler, ed., Iootool of tbe 1toll [SalL Lake ClLy, uLah: 1996], 94-98.) What |s your b|ggest cha||enge r|ght now? WhaLwouldLheselmmlgranLshaveLosayabouLLheloadyouarecarrylng?WhaLareyour feellngs abouL whaL tbey had Lo endure? 8ead on. AL a laLer Llme, Lhere was a meeLlng where some people were expresslng crlLlclsm LhaL church leadershlphadallowedLheMarLlnhandcarLcompanyLoleavesolaLelnLoLheseason.Aman whohadbeenlnLhaLcompanyandwasllsLenlngLoLhelrcommenLswasflnallycompelledLo sLand and speak hls mlnd. Pe asked Lhe people Lo please sLop, and he Lold Lhem LhaL Lhey had no knowledge of whaL Lhey were Lalklng abouL. Pe sald Lhe facLs and deLalls of Lhe experlence weremeanlnglessbecauseLheydldn'LprovldeproperconLexLofLhelssuesaLhand.WaslLa mlsLakeLogosolaLe??es,hlssufferlngswereunspeakableandmanydldnoLsurvlve,buLhe askedlfLheyeverheardanyofLhesurvlvorsspeakawordofcrlLlclsm.no,LheyhadnoL,and nelLher dld any of Lhe company leave Lhe Church. lmaglne LhaL. Pe sald LhaL because of Lhelr experlences Lhey developed an absoluLe assurance LhaLCodllves,fottbeyJevelopeJosttooq,petsoool,eoJotloqtelotloosblpwltbblmtbtooqb tbeltoJvetsltles.(uerlvedfromLheaccounLasLoldby!amesL.lausLln1he8eflner'sllre. oslqo, May 1979.) l'm remlnded of !ob's slmllar response Lo Zophar Lhe naamaLhlLe. !ob sald: nolJyootpeoce,letmeolooe,tbotlmoyspeok,ooJletcomeoomewbotwlll. wbetefote Jo l toke my flesb lo my teetb, ooJ pot my llfe lo mloe booJ? 1booqb be sloy me, yet wlll l ttost lo blm (Iob 1J.1J-15). ldon'LknowhoweasylLwasforLhemanlnLhehandcarLcompanyLofeelgraLlLudewhllehe was sLlll on Lhe Lrek. 8uL ln hlndslghL he was able Lo recognlze Lhe blesslng whlch came ouL of Lhe adverslLy. What |f we cou|d have fores|ght about what our h|nds|ght w||| be? lfwecanexpecLLhaLwe'llbeableLolookbackonourchallengeswlLhgraLlLude,Lhenmaybe we can leL ourselves feel LhaL graLlLude a llLLle early. CraLlLude always pleases Cod, and he wlll always bless us for our expresslons of graLlLude. 2: relativity PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 34 ln hlndslghL, Lhe man sald LhaL aL Llmes he was so weary LhaL he'd look ahead aL a hlll or paLch of sand, deLermlned Lo go [usL LhaL far, and Lhen glve up because he knew he wouldn'L be able LopullLheloadLhroughlL.Powever,whenhereachedLheslopeorsandplL,tbetelswherelL seemed Lhe cott beqoo to posb blm. As reLold by uavld C. Mckay, Lhe man sald, l have looked backmanyLlmesLoseewhowaspushlngmycarL,buLmyeyessawnoone"(lausL,!amesL. 1979. 1he 8eflner's llre. oslqo, May). As you can see, Lhe general feellng held by Lhls genLleman was deflnlLely noL one of blLLerness. PeconcludedLhaLLheprlcehepaldwasaprlvllegeLopay,"becauseLhroughlLhebecame acqualnLed wlLh Cod Plmself. WhaL an amazlng aLLlLude Loward adverslLy. 1he more submlsslve we are Lo Cod, l belleve Lhe moregraLefulwecanbelnourchallenges.WecanLrusLLhaLunderanyclrcumsLance,hehas our besL lnLeresL aL hearL. We wlll noL always undersLand hls ways, buL Lo LrusL hlm as we are ledalongLhroughllfe'slessonsbrlngslmmeasurablepeace.WecanhaveqtotltoJeforour presenLcondlLlons,nomaLLerwhaLLheyare,becauselLlsLhelessonsofLhepresenLLhaL prepare us for Lhe blesslngs of Lhe fuLure. More about Iob We cannoL dlscuss Lhls lesson wlLhouL menLlonlng more abouL Lhe 8lbllcal sLory of !ob. !ob Lruly has Lo be Lhe mosL unforLunaLe man LhaL ever llved, unLll hls adverslLy was well behlnd hlm. Pe had everyLhlng anyone could ever wanL, and blL by blL Lhe Lord allowed lL all Lo be Laken away. Pls wealLh, hls famlly, hls frlends, hls healLh.neverLheless, Lake a look aL how he handled lL. ln hls words: .tbe lotJ qove, ooJ tbe lotJ botb tokeo owoy, blesseJ be tbe oome of tbe lotJ (Iob 1.21). wbot?sbollwetecelveqooJottbebooJofCoJ,ooJsbollweoottecelveevll?(Iob 2.10) Lven when he was overcome wlLh grlef from hls sufferlng, he cursed Lhe day he was born, buL never cursed Cod. AftettblsopeoeJIobblsmootb,ooJcotseJblsJoy.AoJIobspoke,ooJsolJ,lettbe Joy petlsb wbetelo l wos boto (Iob J.1-J).

2: relativity PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 35 ln Lhe end, Lhe Lord prospered !ob from 7,000 Lo 14,000 sheep, 3,000 Lo 6,000 camels, 300 Lo 1,000yokeofoxen,and300Lo1,000sheasses(see!obchapLers1and42).Slmllarly,wecan prosper, as we choose Lo look for Lhe good ln any glven slLuaLlon. Cod appreclaLes our graLlLude and rewards us for lL sooner or laLer. lL's noL [usL a greaL bedLlme sLory, lL's ln Lhe 8lble Lo Leach us how we mlghL llve a more blessed llfe. 8y llvlng Lhls prlnclple, we are rewarded lmmedlaLely wlLhgreaLerpeace,andlfweconLlnueLollvebylaw,wearemorellkelyLoen[oygreaLer prosperlLy as well. 1h|s |s the Law of ke|at|v|ty. ?ouwanLbeLLerclrcumsLances.Lverybodydoes,buLyoumusLflrsLbeglnbyseeklngpeaceln yourpresenLclrcumsLances.?oumusLfeelgraLlLudeforallofLheblesslngsLhaLyoualready en[oy. l'veheardlLsald,lcomplalnedLhaLlhadnoshoesunLlllmeLamanwhohadnofeeL."1he Lawof8elaLlvlLylsaLoolLohelpusflndgraLlLude.lLglvesusawayLoLhlnkmorecheerfully, and Lhus be prepared for greaLer blesslngs. 8e fllleJ wltb tbe 5pltlt.Clvloq tbooks olwoys fot oll tbloqs ooto CoJ ooJ tbe lotbet lo tbe oome of tbe lotJ Iesos cbtlst (pbesloos 5.18, 20). uonoLuseLheLawof8elaLlvlLyagalnsLyourself.?oucoulddoLhlsveryeasllybycomparlng your slLuaLlon Lo beLLer ones. We are Lo Lhlnk of beLLer clrcumsLances as Lhe flrsL sLep Lo havlng Lhem, buL we do noL Lhlnk of Lhem Lo make ourselves feel bad abouL where we are. We Lhlnk of LhemwlLhhopeandgraLlLudeLhaLwewlllevenLuallyen[oyLhemlnreallLy.useLheLawof 8elaLlvlLyLoaldyoulnkeeplngposlLlveLhoughLs.Asyoudo,LheLawoferpeLual 1ransmuLaLlon from ChapLer 1 wlll ensure LhaL beLLer clrcumsLances are Lruly on Lhelr way. ls Lhere ever an opporLunlLy Lo commlseraLe wlLhouL saboLaglng our overall ob[ecLlve? erhaps. lheardofoneverypracLlcalwayLhaLur.SLephen8.Covey(besL-selllngauLhorof7nobltsof nlqbly ffectlve lomllles) handled complalnlng ln hls famlly. As Lhe sLory goes, when Lhey hlked LogeLher, Lhey dldn'L LoleraLe whlnlng from Lhelr chlldren. 8uL aL one polnL he leL Lhem all have a break Lo resL, whereupon Lhey were encouraged Lo complaln as much as Lhey needed Lo. Ch myfeeLareklllloqme!"Powmuchfottber?"l'msotlteJ."WhaLeverLheywanLedLosayall along,herewasLhelropporLunlLy.AndwlLheveryoneleLLlnglLgoaLLhesameLlme,Lhey evenLually became bored wlLh commlseraLlng, and were once agaln able Lo move on cheerfully. 1he burden dldn'L change, buL Lhey way Lhey felL abouL lL dld. 2: relativity PluuLn 18LASu8LS: Peaven's AsLonlshlng Pelp WlLh ?our Money maLLers ! 2014 Leslle Pouseholder / www.1houghLsAllve.com 36 1hls klnd of approach ls noL Lhe Lyplcal response. lL had Lo be lnLenLloned, [usL as an ambulance won'L auLomaLlcally come wlLhouL someone flrsL placlng a 911 call. We have Lo choose Lo flghL Lhe naLural Lendencles we all have, or glve Lhem conLrolled release, as ur. Covey demonsLraLes. 8uLlLgeLseaslerwlLhpracLlce,sowemusLneverglveupLrylng.SomeclrcumsLanceswlllnoL changelnLhlsllfe,buLhowwefeelabouLLhemcanchangelnamomenL.PowwedealwlLh Lhem can change for Lhe beLLer. SomeLlmes lL ls only afLer we allow ourselves Lo feel dlfferenLly abouL our problem LhaL we flnally recelve Lhe blesslng we seek. Accordlng Lo Lhe 8ook of Mormon, Lhere was a group of people who llved abouL 120 8.C. on Lhe Amerlcan ConLlnenL who experlenced Lhls process of change as l have [usL descrlbed. Pere ls an excerpLfromMoslah'swrlLlngs.1hlssegmenLofLhesLoryhaslnsplredmeandglvenmefalLh when l have been ln Lhe mlddle of overwhelmlng challenges: AoJ lt come to poss tbot so qteot wete tbelt offllctloos tbot tbey beqoo to cty mlqbtlly toCoJ.AoJAmoloocommooJeJtbemtbottbeysboolJstoptbeltctles,ooJbepot qootJsovettbemtowotcbtbem,tbotwbosoevetsboolJbefoooJcollloqopooCoJ sboolJbepottoJeotb.AoJAlmoooJblspeopleJlJoottolsetbeltvolcestotbelotJ tbeltCoJ,botJlJpootoottbeltbeottstoblm,ooJbeJlJkoowtbetbooqbtsoftbelt beotts.AoJltcometoposstbottbevolceoftbelotJcometotbemlotbeltoffllctloos, soyloq. llft op yoot beoJs ooJ be of qooJ comfott