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 

 

A View of the Shore!

“It was July 4, 1952.  [Florence] Chadwick, who had previously swum the English Channel, now attempted the 21-mile swim from the southern California mainland to Catalina Island.  The water was a freezing 48 degrees.  The fog was thick and visibility almost nil.  Finally, only a half mile from her destination, she became discouraged and quit.  The next day reporters clamored around her asking why she had quit—had it been the cold water or the distance.  It proved to be neither.  She responded, ‘I was licked by the fog.’  She then recalled a similar experience while swimming the English Channel.  Evidently the fog was likewise engulfing.  She was exhausted.  As she was about to reach out for her father’s hand in the nearby boat, he pointed to the shore.  She raised her head out of the water just long enough to see the land ahead.  With that new vision, she pressed on and became the first woman to conquer the English Channel.

“That story teaches a magnificent principle:  with increased vision can come increased motivation.  So it is with the Atonement.  As our vision of the Atonement is enhanced, our motivation to embrace its full effects is proportionately increased…

“Every attempt to reflect upon the Atonement, to study it, to embrace it, to express appreciation for it, however small or feeble it may be, will kindle the fires of faith and work its miracle towards a more Christlike life.  It is an inescapable consequence of so doing.  We become like those things we habitually love and admire.  And thus, as we study Christ’s life and live his teachings, we become more like him.”  (Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p. 16-17)

Jacob noted that Christ will be the one to greet us on the other side, not St. Peter as is often thought.  As we come to know our Savior more, being greeted by him at the door to heaven will mean more to us.  If we gain a vision of this, it can encourage us to finish the race.  If we get lost in the fog of earth life, like Florence Chadwick we may give up just short of the shore.  Elder George F. Richards shared his vision of this reunion with us.

“Elder George F. Richards saw the Savior in a vision.  ‘He spoke no word to me, but my love for him was such that I have not words to explain.  I know that no mortal man can love the Lord as I experienced that love for the Savior unless God reveals it to him…If only I can be with my

Savior and have that same sense of love that I had in that dream, it will be the goal of my existence, the desire of my life.”  (Brent & Wendy Top, Glimpses Beyond Death’s Door, p. 87-88, also quoted by President Kimball in April 1974 General Conference.) 

Taken from here.

Who IS Righteous?

"Who is righteous? Anyone who is repenting. No matter how bad he has been, if he is repenting, he is a righteous man. There is hope for him. And no matter how good he has been all his life, if he is not repenting, he is a wicked man. The difference is which way you are facing. The man on the top of the stairs facing down is much worse off than the man on the bottom step who is facing up. The direction we are facing, that is repentance; and that is what determines whether we are good or bad." (from "Of All Things" p. 7, a Hugh Nibley quote book edited by Gary Gillum, 2nd edition.)

"The righteous are who ever are repenting. What do you repent of and how do you repent? It’s all a matter of seeking. When you repent you turn from seeking some things to seeking others. What you seek are the desires of your heart and as Alma says, by that alone you will be judged." (Alma 41:3) because Nibley is not an apostle I’ve found scriptures that validate that. 


Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish for spiritual things, what ever increases the authority of the body over the mind, that this is sin to you, however innocent is may seen in itself. -Susan Wesley, mother of John Wesley.

Finding A New Man

"Don’t ask for a specific physical type; ask to feel madly attracted to him. Don’t ask for a witty sense of humor; ask to laugh! Find your own brand of funny. Don’t ask for a guy with a great job; ask to admire his passion. Don’t ask for a man of wealth; ask to feel secure and proud of him, socially and privately. You say “But he must be taller than me in heels” when you should be asking to feel safe, and yes, feminine in his arms. Stop looking for your list of ideals and ask simply as for a man that “gets” you. ♥ " Sarah Moore

Passover and Easter Ideas

ttp://lds.about.com/od/visualmusicalaids/a/bkmk_easter.htm 

 Easter bookmarks!

http://lds.about.com/od/ldsscriptures/a/Chart-Of-The-Saviors-Last-Week.htm   chart of last week of his mortal life, the scriptures from all 4 gospels.

http://lds.about.com/od/jesuschrist/a/names_of_Jesus.htm 

   names of Jesus Christ

http://lds.about.com/od/1/a/les_atonement.htm    Lesson for children about the atonement- complete with printable.

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1999/04/random-sampler?lang=eng    Easter all week- activities to do with kids.

http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3155Itemid%3D456&Itemid=200001  A long list of everything possible- food, activities, lessons, etc.  It's in there! Much that is here is from there.

http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8538    the 30 day celebration,

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2012/03/names-of-christ-study-booklet-printable.html   printable book for children about the names of the savior. 

http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Friend/1999.htm/friend%20april%201999.htm/for%20little%20friends.htm?fn=document-frameset.htm$f=templates$3.0#LPTOC1  

 from the friend- my story of Jesus.

http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4342&Itemid=429    love this idea 12 Easter eggs, all with the true meaning of Easter with scriptures. 

http://beinglds.blogspot.com/2012/03/teaching-children-about-atonement.html   A FHE about the atonement for children under 6 with a carnation experiment, a book, a song, etc.  Lovely!
 

Life verses War

We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the
Sermon on the Mount . . . Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living (cited in The Life of Mahatma Ghandi, Louis Fischer, p. 349).

Every gun made, every warship launched, every rocket fired
signifies, in a final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are
not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

This world in arms is not spending money alone: it is spending
the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of
its children . . . this is not a way of life at all, in any true sense.

Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from
a cross of iron. (Peace with Justice: Selected Addresses of
Dwight D. Eisenhower, pp. 37-38)

President Hinckley quoted Charles Sumner about this matter. He wrote:
Give me the money that has been spent on war, and I will clothe
every man, woman, and child in an attire of which kings and
queens would be proud. I will build a schoolhouse in every
valley over the whole earth. I will crown every hillside with a
place of worship, consecrated to the gospel of peace (The
Ensign, March 1971, p. 20).


Nicholas Murray Butler has figured that money spent for the
World War could have built a $2,500.00 house, placed in it
$1000.00 worth of furniture, put it on five acres of land worth
$1000.00 an acre, and have given this to every family in the
United States, Canada, Australia, England, Wales, Ireland,
Scotland, France. Belgium, Germany, and Russia; could have
given to each city of 20,000 or over in each of these countries a
five-million dollar library and a ten-million dollar university; and
could still with what was left set aside a sum at 5 per cent that
would provide a $1,000.00 yearly salary for over 125,000
teachers and a like number of nurses (Reprinted from Treasures
I Would Share, Heber J. Grant, Dec. 1`937)

. . . judge among the nations, and . . . rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (2 Nephi 12:4)

Parable of the Pencil

Parable of the Pencil

1. You will be able to do great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held by someone higher than you.
2. It is ok to experience a painful sharpening from time to time.
3. The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside. Be men and women of honor, relying on your inner core values and morals.
4. You will make mistakes. Everyone does. That is why pencils have an eraser.
5. Make your mark. Make a difference wherever you go.

Read more: http://spirituallythinking.blogspot.com/search/label/Trials?updated-max=2012-01-09T06:49:00-08:00#ixzz1ogq8g5Wc

Mormonism 101

Describing the character of Latter-day Saints, Newsweek magazine wrote: “No matter where Mormons live, they find themselves part of a network of mutual concern; in Mormon theology everyone is a minister of a kind, everyone is empowered in some way to do good to others, and to have good done unto them: it is a 21st century covenant of caring. This caring is not limited to Church members alone, but extends far beyond.”  

Paying it

You pay it forward, 

not back. 

Beverly Tremain

How Mothers Are Like Christ

....motherhood has taught me a lot about Jesus Christ. As a mother, I’ve learned about justice and mercy, faith and prayer, joy and sorrow, and deep, intense love. Each of these things connects me to Him.

We are taught that as mothers, we are “partners” with Christ. We offer ourselves as vehicles through which spirits can come to earth. But perhaps we are more than just “partners” with Him.  Take a look at Moses 6:58:

“As ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit…even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten.”

Isn’t that stunning? Physical birth (from a mother) is symbolic of spiritual re-birth that will take place later in life (from Christ). So, as mothers, not only are we partners with Christ–

We are symbols of Christ.

We offer our physical bodies in pregnancy and childbirth to provide life for our children. Jesus Christ offered His physical body in death, to provide life for God’s children. And both involve water, blood, and the Spirit.

But it doesn’t stop there. A mother’s offering does not begin or end with her body. Yes, a mother offers her body through sleepless nights, weary arms, a well-worn lap, an aching back, and a listening ear. But what a mother offers most is her heart. Her entire soul. And isn’t that what Jesus Christ has offered us as well? Just as we see it symbolized in motherhood, He offers us His body, and His heart and soul.

From here: 

Be of Good Cheer- NOW!

"The Lord does not say, 'Be of good cheer if the temperature is comfortable, if you're getting along well economically, if the people you love, love you, if you're in good health, or if your 'bio-rhythms' are up.' The Lord said that we should "Be of Good Cheer." It is not a suggestion, it is a commandment. There is a direct cause-and-effect relationship between being cheerful and reaping the richest spiritual blessings."

~Elder Joe J. Christensen

I learned that if the gospel is not working for me, it is because I'm not using it right - not because I'm not good enough or because God or His teachings are incapable of bringing me peace.

from here

Don't Be A Scrub!

"I speak of the need for a little more effort, a little more self-discipline, a little more consecrated effort in the direction of excellence in our lives.

This is the great day of decision for each of us. For many it is the time of beginning something that will go on for as long as you live. I plead with you: don’t be a scrub! Rise to the high ground of spiritual, mental, and physical excellence. You can do it. You may not be a genius. You may be lacking in some skills. But so many of us can do better than we are now doing. We are members of this great Church whose influence is now felt over the world. We are people with a present and with a future. Don’t muff your opportunities. Be excellent. "

Gordon B. Hinckley from The Quest for Excellence, 1999.  

Sister Scriptorians

“Women should be students of scripture.  We want our homes to be blessed with sister scriptorians – whether you are single or married, young or old, widowed or living in a family.  Regardless of your particular circumstances, as you become more and more familiar with the truths of the scriptures, you will be more and more effective in keeping the second great commandment, to love our neighbor as yourself.  Become scholars of the scriptures – not to put others down, but to lift them up!  After all, who has any greater need to ‘treasure up’ the truths of the Gospel (on which they may call in their moments of need) than do women and mothers who do so much nurturing and teaching.”  (President Spencer W. Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 321, emphasis added)

The Why of Scripture Study

 ”Last year a church member sent me a suggestion that someone prepare a book containing all General Authority interpretations of all verses in the scriptures.  I replied that I thought this was not a good idea….  What we are seeking to accomplish… is not to magnify the standing of the prophets but to elevate the spirituality of our rank and file members.  Like Moses, we declare, ‘would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!’  (Numbers 11:29).  We encourage everyone to study the scriptures prayerfully and seek personal revelation to know the meaning for themselves.”  (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Scripture Reading and Revelation”, BYU Studies Academy Meeting, January 29, 1993)

heart, might, mind, strength

Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. (D&C 4:2)

• Heart—courage to carry on, feeling
• Might—physical strength
• Mind—knowledge and intellectual ability
• Strength—physical and mental capability; energy or intensity

Ideas from here.