Why I Believe the Law of Attraction as a Christian Latter-day Saint

My entire life changed for the better when I picked up a book called "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. My dad had given it to me as a Christmas present and though I was excited to read it, I left it sitting in my closet for some time, forgetting it was there. Months later, after a lot of stress and soul searching, I suddenly remembered the book, dashed over to retrieve it from my closet, and started reading it immediately. I didn't stop reading for quite some time. At many points I even cried tears of joy as the words touched my heart.

The book told me several things I really needed to hear at the time which were:

• The Secret is the Law of Attraction, in which bad thoughts attract bad circumstances, but good thoughts attract good circumstances.
• Everything (good or bad) that has happened to me is a result of something I have thought.
• I can manifest anything I desire if I use positive thinking.
• I can make a negative thought into a positive thought by changing both wording and perspective. "I don't want trouble," changes to "I do want peace," which, if using the Secret correctly, changes to "I HAVE peace already."
• Choosing to notice every wonderful and beautiful thing around me is a way to use the Secret every day.

All of these things DO work and I would suggest reading "The Secret" to anyone who was feeling the way I felt at the time I discovered it. I've learned so much in the four years since I read it and have found an even greater power within all of us that was already there in the first place. It is called faith. For all intents and purposes, faith and the Law of Attraction are really one and the same.

Dictionary.com defines the word "Faith" as:

1. Confidence or trust in a person or thing.
2. Belief that is not based on proof.

In the Bible dictionary, faith is defined as:

"To hope for things which are not seen, but which are true."

The Law of Attraction teaches that you must focus on what you want daily and always be reminded of it. Picture yourself having it. Make plans as to what it will be like once you've succeeded. After you've done that, just sit back and let the "Universe" do the rest. That is all wonderful, and I agree that visualization is VERY important when it comes to reaching one's dreams. If you can dream it, you truly can achieve it. However, I noticed that there are some definite rules when it comes to this technique:

1. It is not the universe blessing you, it is our Heavenly Father. After all, the universe is just the creation. We receive blessings from the creator. Prayer is by far the most effective way to use the Law of Attraction.

2. You can't do nothing. It's nice to think that we can just visualize what we want and just wait for it to come. Once in a while, this may be true. However, most of the time, worthwhile things take action. Not hard work, but an effort that comes from the passion inside the person. When you're working toward the thing you love, it really doesn't feel like work anyway! :)

3. Receiving requires giving. You can't expect to receive money if you never gave it. Paying tithing, donating to those less fortunate, giving away old belongings, creating things with others in mind, and doing random acts of kindness are all things that will come back to you 100%. The positive things you put out, you will get back. Period. It works the same way with negativity, so be sure and keep things positive! :)

4. You must want what you already have. If you are not grateful with the blessings you've already received, it is unwise to expect more. Look for more than one thing to be grateful for every day! :)

5. Don't think it, feel it. If you are trying to bring something positive into your life, your thoughts about it must have a good feeling attached to it. That is why having a fleeting negative thought or two is completely harmless day-to-day and completely natural. However, if a negative thought carries a negative feeling with it, we must shift it back to positive thoughts and feelings so that we keep the spirit with us, guiding us toward our blessings.

Most of us have read these inspiring scriptures before:

Matthew 7:7-8

"7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

And Matthew 21:22:

"22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

There is an amazing quote by Jeffrey R. Holland that sums up this idea in his talk "This, the Greatest of All Dispensations" from a Church Educational System fireside address given on September 12, 2004. He stated:

"God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe."

Prayer, faith, and action are the true keys to success in this mortal life. Those who succeed are the ones who DO. If there is a career you want, start doing it for free until you make it. Ask for help and guidance in personal prayer. If you do these things and truly believe you're going to make it, you will!! Heavenly Father may lead us to success in a way we hadn't thought of, but that's just it. There is a way. This is why I feel that the Universe is just a place, not a magic genie that grants us wishes. Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to achieve our dreams because when we do so, we are helping to build his kingdom. Is that not the reason he sent us here with unique talents and abilities to magnify? We each have a quest and the Law of Attraction is how we each can achieve it.

We've all heard of "lucid dreaming" in which a person is able to control and manipulate their dreams into whatever they desire. We can do the same in real life! Not only is lucid dreaming possible; so is lucid living. This is done through truly knowing ourselves, our potential, and what we came into this world to accomplish. Once we've decided that, our pathway becomes lit. With every thought and action we make progress toward becoming our best selves and even bettering others in the process. Success in the Law of Attraction can only be achieved through purity of heart, mind, and deed. In this life we will really only make two choices: the light or the dark. Will we choose those things which are uplifting, joyful, and helpful to others? Or will we choose those things that are driven by greed, lust, and personal gain at the expense of others?
We cannot be perfect, but we must keep striving toward becoming our best possible selves.

Matthew 6:24 states:

"24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

Here the scripture is saying that a person cannot remain true to God's commandments while still harboring thankless greed (in this case, toward money). Many people have the false idea that it is greedy to want money at all. I disagree. Greed of money implies that a person favors money over other people and intends to cheat or take money from of others for personal gain. Earning money, on the other hand, is a blessing and using the Law of Attraction for it is absolutely nothing to be avoided or ashamed of. The scripture really just means that man cannot serve both good and evil at the same time. We cannot serve both the light and the darkness. Physical light and physical darkness are a good thing. The light still casts shadows and the dark reveals the stars. Such is the concept of Yin and Yang. However, when it comes to which we should follow spiritually, there is no gray area; no in-between because we are beings of light ourselves. Therefore, when we choose to focus our thoughts on those things of the light and not upon the dark thoughts of things we don't have, our troubles, etc., our light shines even more brightly. We are then ready and worthy to receive the blessings of the light.

"The Secret" carries a phrase in the book that I found especially helpful: "Ask, believe, receive, These are the steps in which we reach our dreams. I would even go as far as to add "give thanks" after "receive." ;)

After all The Law of Lucidity is about faith, and as it says in James 2:14, 26:

"14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

As the Law of Attraction would teach, thoughts DO become things. As the scriptures teach, actions determine destiny.
You CAN do it! <3