The Sacrament, not the Cross

"The world at large has the idea that the symbol of Christianity is the cross, but it's no such thing. The cross is the symbol of the cruelest form of torture and execution that the Romans could devise; that is what the cross is for. Christ did not give us the cross as the symbol of his great Atonement. He gave us, instead, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper and told us to partake of that bread and drink of that cup in remembrance of his blood and his broken flesh. Did he not give us that great ordinance emblematic of the suffering on the cross? Of course he did. We get it from no other place. He did not say to venerate the cross, he said to partake of the sacrament and always remember him and pledge to high heaven that we will always keep the commandments of Almighty God." —Elder Mark E. Petersen,

Supportive Life

"My role in life has mostly been a supportive one, and I have felt no need to apologize for that."

 Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Reconciliation

I think the Lord is very interested in reconciliation. I think the whole plan centers on reconciliation; the atonement was a superhuman effort to reconcile as many of our Parents' children as possible to Them; and an important part of our reconciliation with God is to be reconciled with each other.

 

-Bonnie Blythe 

Worship

"We believe that worship is far more than prayer and preaching and gospel performance. The supreme act of worship is to keep the commandments, to follow in the footsteps of the Son of God, to do ever those things that please Him. It is one thing to give lip service to the Lord; it is quite another to respect and honor His will by following the example" Joseph Fielding Smith ("I Know That My Redeemer Liveth," Ensign, December 1971, p. 27).

The Kiss

The great Hungarian concert pianist Andor Földes tells the remarkable story of the watershed moment in his rise to world renown. He was 16 years old and already a veteran of years of intense practice and performance. The pianist Emil von Sauer, Franz Liszt's last surviving pupil, came to Budapest and asked young Andor to play for him. Having listened intently to him playing Bach's Toccata in C Major, von Sauer requested another piece. Andor put all his heart and skill into playing Beethoven's "Pathetique" sonata, then continued with Schumann's "Papillons." Finally, after a long pause, von Sauer slowly rose, took the young man's head into his hands, and kissed him on the forehead. "My son," he said tenderly, "when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, 'Take good care of this kiss—it comes from Beethoven, who gave it to me after hearing me play.' I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, and now I feel you deserve it." (From Andor Földes, "Beethoven's Kiss," Reader's Digest, November 1986, 145.)

Andor Földes rose to the expectation. Beethoven's kiss miraculously lifted him from the high level at which he was performing and put him on a level of real greatness. The incomparable greatness and uniqueness of Beethoven survives in many ways, but none more personally or more powerfully than through the mentoring of those touched by this kiss symbolic of his greatness and uniqueness.

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).