My Struggle is with God

It is okay to struggle.  It is okay to ache. It is okay to have unanswerable questions. Lets just keep showing up, and crying to the Lord, and climbing those stairs, and taking our answers to the right source like the Daughters of Zelophehad did.  I have faith that the answers are there... and sometimes the struggle is what will teach us the most.

That is why I won't be wearing pants to church on Sunday. 

My struggle isn't with any mortal edifice, organization, apostle or prophet. They can't give me what I really want. 

{To see. Like Abraham, Moses, and Enoch saw} 

My struggle is with God.  Only He has what I want, and I know that if I wrestle with Him long enough I will get it. 

And what I wear to church on Sunday won't change that. 

 

from Heather at Women in the Scriptures

Unfading Glory

"We came into the world for a great purpose, the same as Jesus, our elder brother, to do the will and works of our Father; in this there is peace, joy and happiness, an increase of wisdom, knowledge and the power of God; outside of this are no promised blessings. Thus let us devote ourselves to righteousness, help each and all to be better and happier; do good to all and evil to none; honor God and obey His Priesthood; cultivate and preserve an enlightened conscience and follow the Holy Spirit; faint not, hold fast to what is good, endure to the end, and your cup of joy shall be full even to overflowing, for great shall be your reward for your trials and your sufferings under temptations, your fiery ordeals, your heart yearnings and tears; yea, our God will give you a crown of unfading glory." (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow, p. 154).

Family and Spirituality.

"The family is the foundation for love and for maintaining spirituality. The family promotes an atmosphere where religious observance can flourish. There is indeed 'beauty all around when there’s love at home.'"

- Quintin L. Cook

God will never desert us

No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, God will never desert us.  He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character. He is an unchangeable being; the same yesterday, the same today, and He will be the same throughout the eternal ages to come.  We have found that God. We have made Him our friend, by obeying  His Gospel; and He will stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed.  We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties that better and purer for them, if we only trust in our God and keep His commandments.  - George Q. Cannon.

High Standards

No woman 

should ever be expected 

to lower her standard 

for a man who refuses

to hold himself up to a higher one.

-Elder Bednar 

The Spirit Fills

When you are filled with the Spirit of God, … that [Spirit] satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart, and fills up every vacuum. When I am filled with that spirit my soul is satisfied. … The Spirit of God will impart instruction to your minds, and you will impart it to each other. … Remember that you are Saints of God; and that you have important works to perform in Zion” (Woman’s Exponent, Sept. 15, 1873, 62).

Permissive Society

An otherwise permissive society,

  which tolerates almost everything,

  usually will not tolerate speech that challenges its iniquity.

Evil is always intolerantly preoccupied with its own perpetuation.

  That Ye May Believe, p. 74 Neal A. Maxwell

Chastity- powerful words in there.

“There was provided in our bodies—and this is sacred—a power of creation, a light, so to speak, that has the power to kindle other lights. This gift was to be used only within the sacred bonds of marriage. Through the exercise of this power of creation, a mortal body may be conceived, a spirit enter into it, and a new soul born into this life.

“This power is good. It can create and sustain family life, and it is in family life that we find the fountains of happiness. …

“The power of creation—or may we say procreation—is not just an incidental part of the plan: it is essential to it. Without it the plan could not proceed. The misuse of it may disrupt the plan.

“Much of the happiness that may come to you in this life will depend on how you use this sacred power of creation. … If [Satan] can entice you to use this power prematurely, to use it too soon, or to misuse it in any way, you may well lose your opportunities for eternal progression. …

“Protect and guard your gift. Your actual happiness is at stake. Eternal family life … can be achieved because our Heavenly Father has bestowed this choicest gift of all upon you—this power of creation. It is the very key to happiness” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1972,

Restored the Sovereign

At the signing of Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams addressed the other signers as he signed the Declaration of Independence and said: "We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven, and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His Kingdom come." 

And at that statement and the signing of the Founders, our Independence was set in writing and the hearts of patriots.

The Greatest Experience of Your Life

"Brethren, the greatest experience of your life will be to stand together with your wife at the head of your eternal family. With the power of the holy priesthood in your life and in your marriage, you will love, guide, direct, and teach the children God entrusts to your care."
                  - Sister Sue L. Clark

To read more awesome quotes and scriptures about eternal marriage go here: http://mormonsoprano.com/2008/10/14/what-is-marriage/#

Life is not a competition

Life is not a competition with others. In its truest sense it is a rivalry with ourselves. We should each day seek to break the record of our yesterday. We should seek each day to live stronger, better, truer lives; each day to master some weakness of yesterday; each day to repair past follies; each day to surpass...ourselves. And this is but progress.

-William George Jordan

Our boys... should get married....

“Our boys, when they arrive at years of maturity and can take earn of a wife, should get married, and there should not be a lot of young men growing up in our midst who ought to be, but are not married. While I do not make the remark to apply to individual cases, I am firmly of the opinion that a large number of unmarried men, over the age of twenty-four years, is a dangerous element in any community, and an element upon which society should look with a jealous eye. For every man knowing himself, knows how his fellow-man is constituted; and if men do not marry, they are too apt to do something worse. Then, brethren, encourage our young men to marry, and see that they are furnished employment, so that they can marry.”

George Q. Cannon 

 

The Homemaker

“The homemaker is the ultimate career for which all other careers exist. Why should we have shipping lines, the fields of medicine or the law, of commerce or labor of any kind except to support the home and family?”

C.S. Lewis 

Marriage

I speak briefly to those contemplating marriage. The best way to avoid divorce from an unfaithful, abusive, or unsupportive spouse is to avoid marriage to such a person. If you wish to marry well, inquire well. Associations through “hanging out” or exchanging information on the Internet are not a sufficient basis for marriage. There should be dating, followed by careful and thoughtful and thorough courtship. There should be ample opportunities to experience the prospective spouse’s behavior in a variety of circumstances. Fiancés should learn everything they can about the families with whom they will soon be joined in marriage. In all of this, we should realize that a good marriage does not require a perfect man or a perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive together toward perfection.

-Elder Oaks  April 2007

Worship or be swept off!

Ezra Taft Benson: Never before has the land of Zion appeared so vulnerable to so powerful an enemy as the Americas do at present. And our vulnerability is directly attributable to our loss of active faith in the God of this land, who has decreed that we must worship Him or be swept off. Too many Americans have lost sight of the truth that God is our source of freedom—the Lawgiver—and that personal righteousness is the most important essential to preserving our freedom. So, I say with all the energy of my soul that unless we as citizens of this nation forsake our sins, political and otherwise, and return to the fundamental principles of Christianity and of constitutional government, we will lose our political liberties, our free institutions, and will stand in jeopardy before God.

The Power of Thought

“As a being of power, intelligence, and the master of his own thoughts, a man holds the key to every situation, to make his life what he chooses it to be. When he discovers the divine power within his soul, he can lead his life to a God-like nature. If one dreams lofty dreams, so shall he become. There is magic in the way one thinks. If we expect the worst, we will get the worst. If we expect the best, we will receive the best. If we train our minds to have faith in God and ourselves, we are using one of the great laws of life. If we think and live righteously, happiness will find its place in our lives. It is amazing when we expect the best how forces are set in motion, which cause the best to materialize.… Our thoughts, more than circumstances, determine the course of our lives. Outward circumstances do not determine the course of our lives as much as the thoughts that habitually occupy our minds. These thoughts carve their impression on our faces, in our hearts, and on the tablet of our eternal souls” (Howard W. Hunter, Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, p. 74).

Agency

In years past we generally used the term free agency. That is not incorrect. More recently we have taken note that free agency does not appear in the scriptures. They talk of our being “free to choose” and “free to act” for ourselves (2 Nephi 2:27; 10:23; see also Helaman 14:30) and of our obligation to do many things of our own “free will” (D&C 58:27). But the word agency appears either by itself or with the modifier moral: “That every man may act in doctrine and principle … according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment” (D&C 101:78; emphasis added). When we use the term moral agency, we are appropriately emphasizing the accountability that is an essential part of the divine gift of agency. We are moral beings and agents unto ourselves, free to choose but also responsible for our choices.

By Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

From a devotional address delivered January 31, 2006, at Brigham Young University. For the full text, visit http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1515.

From someone I met once

Jennifer:

It’s never sat right with me—calling myself by that term. *SINGLE* Defining myself by the thing I lack.

I was genuinely more happy once I lost myself in my life and in possibility. 

my time isn’t about me “pampering myself,” it’s about me surviving...

I have diligently tried over the last two, maybe three, years to not let my relationship status deter or define me. (what I, Becky wish for again)

Becky's Voice now: 
In counseling today I told him that I want to drown myself.  Then at the end I told him I want to kill somebody.  Then I quoted from a pin:  I used to be a people person, but people ruined that for me. 


He says I see myself as "broken", but I am not. His advice, is to count my blessings.  I know that sounds clisha, but he didn't say it like that.  It's more about living in the positive now and, like Jennifer said, in possibility. 


The thing is I've felt broken my whole life. Elementary school, HS, My mission, College, YSA life- all of it- I felt broken, and I thought marriage would fix me- I'd have someone to love me, to put cement in the cracks and make me whole and better. Not just better, not sick anymore, but better as in a better me. I also wanted marriage so someone would take care of me. 


I got married and I got more broken and couldn't even take care of myself let alone him.  


Jason, my counselor says I'm not broken.  OK, I'll try and believe that. Depressed- yes, beaten down- yes, unsure- yes, but I am whole- I guess.  


Jewels song "Hands" ran through my mind in counseling.  

My hands are small I know but they aren't yours they are my own,

and I am never broken.... In the end, only kindness matters.

It makes sense on a level never felt before. So maybe this should be my new theme, the words I say to myself when I want to kill someone or kill myself or even just hurt kids or do nothing or... feel less than.  Those last 3 words, those are the words I've felt about myself for so long- so less than.  And you know what- that phrase is what my patriarchal blessing says I will do- help those less fortunate then me.  So, that means I can't be all that broken- right?  There are others more broken, others with less than what I have, so that should make that blessing list doable- right? 


I'm still trying to convince myself. I think you'll be able to tell when I believe it.

I Believe in Beauty!

"I see and admire beauty in people. I am not so concerned with the look that comes of lotions and creams, of pastes and packs as seen in slick-paper magazines and on television. I am not concerned whether the skin be fair or dark. I have seen beautiful people in a hundred nations through which I have walked. Little children are beautiful everywhere. And so are the aged, whose wrinkled hands and faces speak of struggle and survival. . . . I believe in beauty--the beauty of God's unspoiled creations, the beauty of his sons and daughters who walk without whimpering, meeting the challenges of each new day" (The Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 249).

A miniature church

“Each stake… becomes a miniature Church to the Saints in a specific geographic area. The purpose is to unify and perfect the members who live in those boundaries by extending to them the Church programs, the ordinances, and gospel instruction.” — President Ezra Taft Benson

Building up Zion

Elder Holland
While President of BYU

Coach LaVell Edwards told me last week that as the team was returning to Provo about 2:00 a.m., following [an important] game, he and his wife couldn't help overhearing two of his players talking in the seat just behind them in the bus. They were not talking about beating a traditional powerhouse... They were not talking about how the offense had sparkled or how the defense had dug in. They were not talking about a conference championship or an undefeated season, or about a national ranking. 

They were talking about the one player's recent baptism into the Church, along with his wife who is also a student athlete here. He spoke of his eager anticipation of receiving the priesthood and of a future sealing in the temple. Indeed, there seemed to be only one disappointment in this whole conversation, and it wasn't about the ball game. 

It was that this young man had not known--and joined--the Church early enough to be able to serve a mission. At that, the other player, in reply, spoke of how much his mission had meant to him and how it had given real direction to his life. Much of this young man's life had been spent without a father in the home and I happen to know what it has meant to his mother to have him bear the priesthood and serve a mission. 

Coach and Sister Edwards said they had a little trouble fighting down the lumps in their throats, thinking of these 260-pound behemoths sitting behind them--kids who eat steel girders for breakfast and concrete slabs for lunch--talking quietly after one of BYU's greatest football wins ever, of baptism and priesthood and mission and temples… 

"When we conclude to make a Zion," said Brigham Young, "we will make it, and this work commences in the heart of each person. I have Zion in my view constantly," he said. "We are not going to wait for angels, or for Enoch. . . to come and build [it], but we are going to build it [ourselves]" (JD 9:284).

  Sept 11, 1984

New and Continuing Revelation

Bruce R.McConkie’s famous quote sums up the attitude of most Latter-day Saints today regarding new and continuing revelation:

“Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young or President George Q. Cannon or whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation. We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that now has come into the world. We get our truth and our light line upon line and precept upon precept. We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness and all the views and all the thoughts of the past. They don’t matter any more. . . . It is a new day.”

Click here for the full article, “Spencer W. Kimball and the Revelation on Priesthood.”

Decisions Affect Eternity

"Neither Satan nor any other power can weaken or destroy your growing character. Only you could do that through disobedience. That is why Satan is so intently focused on tempting you to make decisions that will undermine your character. Satan is an accomplished master at making devastating choices appear attractive, even reasonable. So be careful. At this critical time of life you will be faced with many choices. The decisions you will make will profoundly affect life now and for eternity. Make them wisely and prayerfully."

--RICHARD G. SCOTT, "To Live Well", BYU Devotional April 21, 2011

Julie B. Beck quotes

Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home.” ~ Julie B. Beck

 
“A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. …  But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently.
“The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. …
Revelation can come hour by hour and moment by moment as we do the right things.  For instance, mothers can feel help from the Spirit even when tired, noisy children are clamoring for attention, but they can be distanced from the Spirit if they lose their temper with children. … Because personal revelation is a constantly renewable source of strength, it is possible to feel bathed in help even during turbulent times.” ~ Julie B. Beck

“In order to prioritize time wisely, I learned something from my father-in-law years ago. He was a  steel-worker and spent his life working three different shifts. He either worked the day shift, the afternoon shift, or the night shift. As a young mother I realized one time that I was working all three shifts, and that’s why I was so tired. We can’t do all things all at once, and we have to be careful and safeguard our shifts.
“As I have talked to young mothers and mothers with children at home, they tell me that their most important shift to be at the top of their game, to be the strongest lioness at the gate is the ‘swing shift.’ That’s the afternoon shift. That’s when everyone comes home hungry, tired, needy, and less lovable. It is when you are hungry, tired, needy, and less loveable. It is also the time of day when people are more teachable, when they are most grateful.
“Remember that influence and power come when we prioritize correctly. If you spend time elsewhere, you don’t have it to give. … Ask ‘Where do I need to prioritize my time?’ and ‘When do I have to be at the top of my game?’ I have learned that a good woman with the help of the Lord can usually work two to two and a half shifts. However, no one can work all three shifts. You have to prioritize where you are going to spend your energy.” ~ Julie B. Beck

Eye Patches

divorced people are like seeing a man with an eye patch. The patch adds a sense of dashing mystery to the man's appearance, but the fact still is--the man has been through a maiming experience.

(And I would add the same is for the woman too.) 

Photo credit from here: http://katharinemiller.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/katharine-hearts-eye-patches/

Quote credit from here: http://theboysquad.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-has-come-and-gone.html

Moving Forward

This impression weighs upon me- that the church is in a position in it's growth and maturity when we are at last ready to move forward in a major way.    

The basic decisions needed to move forward, as a people, must be made by the individual members of the church.  The major strides which must be made by the Church will follow upon the major strides to be made by us as individuals. We have paused on some plateaus long enough. Let us resume our journey forward and upward." (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1979, p. 114.) 

now is not forever

"Please understand that what you see and experience now is not what forever will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him.²¹Have hope and faith in that promise. Learn to love your Heavenly Father and become His disciple in word and in deed."

Tonight, I am holding onto that promise and, as always, working to become His disciple in word and deed.  It's all I can do, especially during the "difficult times."

 

President Uchtdorf 

 

Perfect Submission

The Savior’s perfect submission to the Eternal Father is the very essence of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Christ’s example teaches us that a broken heart is an eternal attribute of godliness. When our hearts are broken, we are completely open to the Spirit of God and recognize our dependence on Him for all that we have and all that we are. The sacrifice so entailed is a sacrifice of pride in all its forms. Like malleable clay in the hands of a skilled potter, the brokenhearted can be molded and shaped in the hands of the Master.  -Bruce D. Porter, LDS General Conference, 2007

Entitlements

Strange, in a time otherwise obsessed with entitlements, how little concern there is over our becoming entitled to the blessings of heaven.

Neil A. Maxwell, The 7th Commandment: A Shield. Oct 2001

The Triangle(s): Romance and Discipleship

Christlike staying power in romance and marriage requires more than any of us really have. It requires something more, an endowment from heaven. Remember Mormon's promise: that such love—the love we each yearn for and cling to—is "bestowed" upon "true followers of Christ." You want capability, safety, and security in dating and romance, in married life and eternity? Be a true disciple of Jesus. Be a genuine, committed, word-and-deed Latter-day Saint. Believe that your faith has everything to do with your romance, because it does. You separate dating from discipleship at your peril. Or to phrase that more positively, Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, is the only lamp by which you can successfully see the path of love and happiness for you and your sweetheart. How should I love thee? As He does, for that way "never faileth."
—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU Devotional, February 15, 2000

Elder Holland at Harvard Law School

This says it all.
  

 How the Father and His Son are one. 
mind
deed
will
wish
hope
faith
purpose
intent
love

Just not in Body!
 

Our Best Selves

"In the search for our best selves, several questions will guide our thinking: Am I what I want to be? Am I closer to the Savior today than I was yesterday? Will I be closer yet tomorrow? Do I have the courage to change for the better? The years have come and the years have gone, but the need for a testimony of the gospel continues paramount. As we move toward the future, we must not neglect the lessons of the past." - President Thomas S. Monson, "On Being Spirtually Prepared", Ensign February 2010

The Importance of the Holy Ghost

After he died, Joseph Smith came back to visit Brigham Young in a dream. The purpose of this visit was to urge President Young to give a vital message to the Saints. After Brigham Young died, he came back to visit John Taylor in a dream. The message he wanted delivered to the Saints was the same one President Smith gave to him, “Tell the people to get the Spirit.”  (See this link for references and more quotes from other prophets.) 

This is the same vital message that Nephi wanted to impress upon his readers in the last pages of his record.

(An interesting note about Nephi’s basic character:  His record begins and ends with his profession of obedience to the Lord—1 Ne. 3:7, and 2 Ne. 33:15)

Elder Richard G. Scott has written: “Your happiness now and for the eternities will unquestionably be determined by whether or not you follow the spiritual guidance of the Lord communicated through the Holy Ghost…”  “The counsel of others and the programs of the Church are useful aids but not the best source of fundamental direction in your life. That guidance comes from the Lord through the Holy Ghost.”

“Spirituality yields two fruits. The first is inspiration, that is, to know what to do. The second is power—the power of God or the capacity to do what one has been instructed to accomplish.”  (Richard G. Scott, Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy, p. 39-40)

It is absolutely essential to our mission on earth that we know what the Lord wants us to do through the Holy Ghost, and that we have the power to do it through the Holy Ghost.  This is feasting on the words of Christ, or communicating and living in the language of the angels.

From here: 

http://www.gospeldoctrineplus.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-of-mormon-lesson-11-press-forward.html