Brethren of the priesthood, sisters of the Relief Society, President Henry D. Moyle suggested that when someone speaks we ought to get three things out of the message. First and least important (but still very important), we ought to get what is said. Second, and more important, we ought to have a spiritual experience. Third, and most important, we should keep the commitments we make to ourselves. Let’s write them down and follow through. Don’t ever make a commitment to yourself you don’t intend to keep—if you do, you weaken your character.
For twenty-six years, since I was fifteen, I was involved in the grocery industry. I learned much about human nature during those years. I remember the effects that strikes, earthquakes, and rumors of war had on many very active Latter-day Saints. Like the five foolish virgins, they rushed to the store to buy food, caught in the panic of knowing that direction had been given by the prophet but not having followed that direction—fearful that maybe they had procrastinated until it was everlastingly too late.
It was interesting because only in Latter-day Saint communities did people seem to buy with abandon. It was not a few Latter-day Saints—it was a significant number. It caused great increases in sales. One such experience came when a so-called prophecy by someone outside the Church was greatly publicized.
How foolish we can sometimes be! We have a living prophet; we have God’s living oracles, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles. Let us follow the Brethren and be constant. We need have no fear if we are prepared.
Brothers and sisters, what have we done in our stakes and wards to see that every Latter-day Saint has a year’s reserve of food to sustain life? Let’s not only keep teaching the principle, but let’s also teach our people how.
This morning I would like to discuss food storage. Let me suggest three or four things we can do. Start by taking an inventory—take a physical count of all of your reserves. This would be a great family home evening project if you’re prepared. If not, it may be terribly embarrassing to you in front of your family. Imagine how the powerful testimony you bear concerning a living prophet must sound to your children, who know that as a family head you have been counseled for years to have a year’s reserve of food on hand. We need to know where we are. Every family should take an inventory—get all the facts.
Second, decide what is needed to bring your present reserve levels to a year’s supply. Then make a list and prepare a plan. Consider first, what are the basics?—wheat (or grain from your locale), sugar or honey, dried milk, salt, and water. Most of us can afford such basics. Buy them from your monthly food budget allowance. The Church discourages going into debt to buy for storage.
Now that you know where you are and where you need to be, the third step is to work out a time schedule for when you will reach your goal. I suggest that one year from today we ought to have a year’s supply of food in all active—and many inactive—members’ homes in the Church. Where food storage violates the law of your land, then abide the law. However, even in those cases we can plant gardens and fruit trees and raise rabbits or chickens. Do all you can within the laws of your community, and the Lord will bless you when the time of need comes. Now here are some suggestions how:
1. Follow the prophet. He has counseled us to plant a garden and fruit trees. This year don’t just think about it—do it. Grow all the food you possibly can. Also remember to buy a year’s supply of garden seeds so that, in case of a shortage, you will have them for the following spring. I’m going to tell you where to get the money for all the things I’m going to suggest.
2. Find someone who sells large bulk of grains, depending on your locale. Make arrangements to buy a ton or so of grain.
3. Find someone who sells honey in large containers and make arrangements to buy what you can afford on a regular basis or buy a little additional sugar each time you go to the store.
4. Purchase dry milk from the store or dairy, on a systematic basis.
5. Buy a case of salt the next time you go to the store. In most areas, 24 one-pound packages will cost you less than $5.
6. Store enough water for each member of your family to last for at least two weeks.
Where the foods I mentioned are not available or are not basic in your culture or area, make appropriate substitutions.
Now you ask, “Where do I get the money for these things? I agree we need them, but I’m having a hard time making ends meet.”
Here is how you do it. Use any one or all of these suggestions, some of which may not be applicable in your country:
1. Decide as a family this year that 25 or 50 percent of your Christmas will be spent on a year’s supply. Many families in the Church spend considerable sums of money for Christmas. Half or part of these Christmas monies will go a long way toward purchasing the basics. I recall the Scotsman who went to the doctor and had an X-ray taken of his chest. Then he had the X-ray gift-wrapped and gave it to his wife for their anniversary. He couldn’t afford a gift, but he wanted her to know his heart was in the right place. Brethren, give your wife a year’s supply of wheat for Christmas, and she’ll know your heart is in the right place.
2. When you desire new clothes, don’t buy them. Repair and mend and make your present wardrobe last a few months longer. Use that money for the food basics. Make all of your nonfood necessities that you feasibly can, such as furniture and clothing.
3. Cut the amount of money you spend on recreation by 50 percent. Do fun things that do not require money outlay but make more lasting impressions on your children.
4. Decide as a family that there will be no vacation or holiday next year unless you have your year’s supply. Many Church members could buy a full year’s supply of the basics from what they would save by not taking a vacation. Take the vacation time and work on a family garden. Be together, and it can be just as much fun.
5. If you haven’t a year’s supply yet and you do have boats, snowmobiles, campers, or other luxury possessions, sell or trade one or two or more of them and get your year’s supply.
6. Watch advertised specials in the grocery stores and pick up extra supplies of those items that are of exceptional value.
7. Change the mix in your family’s diet. Get your protein from sources less expensive than meat. The grocery bill is one bill that can be cut. Every time you enter the store and feel tempted by effective and honest merchandising to buy cookies, candy, ice cream, non-food items, or magazines—don’t! Think carefully; buy only the essentials. Then figure what you have saved and spend it on powdered milk, sugar, honey, salt, or grain.
The Lord will make it possible, if we make a firm commitment, for every Latter-day Saint family to have a year’s supply of food reserves by April 1977. All we have to do is to decide, commit to do it, and then keep the commitment. Miracles will take place; the way will be opened, and next April we will have our storage areas filled. We will prove through our actions our willingness to follow our beloved prophet and the Brethren, which will bring security to us and our families.
Now regarding home production: Raise animals where means and local laws permit. Plant fruit trees, grapevines, berry bushes, and vegetables. You will provide food for your family, much of which can be eaten fresh. Other food you grow can be preserved and included as part of your home storage. Wherever possible, produce your nonfood necessities of life. Sew and mend your own clothing. Make or build needed items. I might also add, beautify, repair, and maintain all of your property.
Home production of food and nonfood items is a way to stretch your income and to increase your skills and talents. It is a way to teach your family to be self-sufficient. Our children are provided with much needed opportunities to learn the fundamentals of work, industry, and thrift. President Romney has said, “We will see the day when we will live on what we produce.” (Conference Reports, April 1975, p. 165.)
I should like to address a few remarks to those who ask, “Do I share with my neighbors who have not followed the counsel? And what about the nonmembers who do not have a year’s supply? Do we have to share with them?” No, we don’t have to share—we get to share! Let us not be concerned about silly thoughts of whether we would share or not. Of course we would share! What would Jesus do? I could not possibly eat food and see my neighbors starving. And if you starve to death after sharing, “greater love hath no man than this …” (John 15:13.)
Now what about those who would plunder and break in and take that which we have stored for our families’ needs? Don’t give this one more idle thought. There is a God in heaven whom we have obeyed. Do you suppose he would abandon those who have kept his commandments? He said, “If ye are prepared, ye need not fear.” (D&C 38:30.) Prepare, O men of Zion, and fear not. Let Zion put on her beautiful garments. Let us put on the full armor of God. Let us be pure in heart, love mercy, be just, and stand in holy places. Commit to have a year’s supply of food by April 1977.
Bishops and stake presidents, let us accept the challenge on behalf of the Saints in our wards and stakes. It will prove to be a very Christlike deed on your part. Follow through and check up one year from now and make certain we achieve results.
In his October 1973 conference address, President Ezra Taft Benson gave some excellent instructions about home storage:
“For the righteous the gospel provides a warning before a calamity, a program for the crises, a refuge for each disaster. …
“The Lord has warned us of famines, but the righteous will have listened to prophets and stored at least a year’s supply of survival food. …
“Brethren and sisters, I know that this welfare program is inspired of God. I have witnessed with my own eyes the ravages of hunger and destitution as, under the direction of the president of the Church, I spent a year in war-torn Europe at the close of World War II, without my family, distributing food, clothing, and bedding to our needy members. I have looked into the sunken eyes of Saints, in almost the last stages of starvation. I have seen faithful mothers carrying their children, three and four years of age, who were unable to walk because of malnutrition. I have seen a hungry woman turn down food for a spool of thread. I have seen grown men weep as they ran their hands through the wheat and beans sent to them from Zion—America.
“Thanks be to God for a prophet, for this inspired program, and for Saints who so managed their stewardship that they could provide for their own and still share with others.” (“Prepare Ye,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, pp. 69, 81–82.)
I bear my humble witness to you that the great God of heaven will open doors and means in a way we never would have supposed to help all those who truly want to get their year’s supply. I know we will have time and money if we will commit and keep the commitment. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Crabs in the Bucket
Crab fishermen have long known that there is no need to bother putting a lid on the bucket you are using to catch crabs. Once you've tossed in a few crabs, they'll police themselves. Any ambitious crab that decides to make a run for freedom will find it all but impossible to scale the wall of the bucket and scramble over the top. It's not that the bucket is too deep or slippery. It's the seemingly odd behavior of the other crabs. As soon as one starts making a move to scramble over the others and out, its fellow crabs will reach out those long, sharp pincers and pull the errant crab back into the fray. Nobody escapes the crab bucket. That's because no crab will allow another crab to move up and out...even if they have once entertained the same notion themselves. If there were only one crab in the bucket it would certainly escape. However, with more than one crab in the bucket, they grab hold and pull it back down so that it would share the same fate as the rest of them.” This is true with people. If one person attempts to better himself, other people will attempt to drag him back down to share their fate. You must ignore the crabs if you want to be a success in life. Silly crabs. Can't they see that if they just lend a helping pincer, they could form an escape chain and pull the entire group out to freedom? Apparently the crabs don't see it that way. Perhaps they figure that only the one obnoxiously ambitious crab will break free by stepping on the rest of the group in a selfish dash to freedom. Good for one crab, maybe. How about everybody else? Why, they'd risk still being stuck in the bottom of the bucket with one less to support the group. Let us be wise and recognize how we use our pincers. We can choose to prepare, feed, work or hold back with our actions. May we all lift one another and lend our pincer for a chain of escape not a method to hold one in place.
Buckets and Dippers
BUCKETS AND DIPPERS
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
- - - 1 Corinthians 13:11
The world of the child is largely created for him by the adults in his environment. He has little or no control over the kind of input he receives. His self concept is therefore quite dependent upon how he is treated and what is said and done to him. This is appropriate and necessary for the child.
Sad to say, most of us, as adults, continue to function in much the same manner as when we were children. We continue to expect others to make us feel good and we blame them for making us feel bad. This is not only inappropriate for and adult but it is also quite unnecessary While it appears to be true that most of us will always need and welcome support from those around us, it is not true that we are entirely dependent upon them. Yet, many of us never seem to discover this basic truth.
Because we apparently never eliminate many of our past learnings, even when harmed by them, it would be quite helpful if more people became aware of another way of thinking about the self that is, perhaps, a little easier to understand than some of the commonly accepted ways. A simple analogy is presented below which can be useful in helping to understand certain aspects of any personal relationship. However, it is particularly relevant when dealing with children or when observing many of the personal, emotional interchanges between and among children.
Let us imagine and conceive of ourself as if we were a bucket. How we feel and how we will behave at any given moment is dependent upon how much or how little we have in our buckets. If our bucket is filled to overflowing, (which almost never happens), we will feel joy, have energy, and look forward to each day with enthusiasm. We will radiate warmth, be tolerant, forgiving, understanding and supporting of others. We will be glad we are alive and will exultantly proclaim, "Life is good." This is a well-developed pro-life viewpoint.
If our buckets are completely empty, (which almost never happens), we will feel and display all those characteristics which are opposite to those just stated. We will fell depressed, have little energy, and dread the coming of the next day. We will be unhappy, bitter, complaining, vindictive, and non-supporting of others. We will whine and miserably or angrily proclaim: "Life is lousy, purposeless, and hopeless." This is a well-developed anti-life viewpoint.
When faced with a person whose bucket is empty, most of us tend to become defensive---we feel threatened, fearful, hurt, or angry. It is likely that if we are strongly attacked verbally, we will respond in similar fashion. The emotional heat so generated is often not conducive to the development of healthy working relationships, not to the development of kindly feeling toward our attacker.
If we understood and applied the idea of ourself as a bucket, we might discover that we would be able to behave quite differently than is usually expected. For example, when an attack is being directed toward us, rather than feeling hurt or counterattacking, we might find that we will be able to calmly view the upset person from a non emotional vantage point. We could then say to ourselves: ‘Oh, you poor thing! You must have an empty bucket!" This places the attacker in an entirely different perspective. It can make us realize that his state of distress has very little to do with us, even though he seems to think it does. We will be able to realize that he is behaving that way because he feels so bad about himself. His bucket must be empty or else he wouldn’t be behaving that way. We might even be moved to feel genuine sympathy for him.
If we adopted the bucket view of self, we would understand that the motive underlying his attack is more directly attributable to his empty bucket than to anything we might have done to warrant criticism. We would realize that the person who is characteristically bitter is a person who has an empty or near-empty bucket. The bitterness is an expression of that emptiness.
The person with an empty bucket does not feel good about himself. He is actually upset with himself. In fact, he dislikes himself or else he wouldn’t be so consistently hateful toward others. This is axiomatic: anyone who consistently criticizes, finds fault with, demeans, ridicules, or maliciously gossips about another person actually dislikes himself. Furthermore, his behavior may be characterized as an attempt to engage in bucket dipping.
In addition to our buckets, each of us is equipped with a dipper. The consistently negative person keeps his dipper working overtime in a futile attempt to diminish another person and seemingly enhance himself. He may often succeed in the former, but he always fails miserably in the latter. It is impossible to fill one’s own bucket by dipping into another’s.
Knowing that each of us has a dipper as well as a bucket, makes it possible to understand some otherwise fairly inexplicable behavior. It also becomes relatively easy to identify those who approach each day with dipper clutched firmly in hand, frantically engaged in attempting to empty the buckets of those around them. Finally, this view of behavior allows us to cast our own reactions in a different light.
The task then, for a concerned human being who is striving to become more pro-life and more positive, is to exercise every opportunity to help fill another’s bucket and to become intently alert to the spontaneously negative use of his own dipper.
How we go about attempting to fill buckets, to help another person feel better about himself, is actually already well-known by most of us; although, we perhaps never realized quite how or why it was so significant. We fill others’ buckets by giving them sincere praise, compliments, accepting smiles, and displaying concerned interest. Strangely and inexplicably, we can add to our own buckets most directly and most mysteriously by working diligently to put drops into another person’s bucket. Under no circumstances do we ever add drops to our own by dipping into another bucket.
Children are relatively helpless. If more time and energy is spent dipping from their buckets than is spent putting drops into them, they have little recourse available to them other than to cringe in defeat or strike out in retaliation. Thus, the constant ever present phenomenon of children tormenting one another (as well as aiming their dippers at adults), is a relentless quest to "get even." Of course they never succeed. But, their attempt can be understood as an unconscious understanding of at least one half of our concept of buckets and dippers . . . they realize that others have buckets which often contain considerably more than they, themselves, possess. They wrongfully believe that if they dip sufficiently deep enough and often enough, they will not only diminish the supply of the envied one, but will somehow add the stolen drops to their own impoverished supply. Their temporary smile of sadistic satisfaction is soon overcome by the stark reality of the barrenness of their internal environment and they repeat their foolish and harmful bucket-dipping behavior.
When you next look upon or have occasion to relate to a child who is angry, sullen, whining, belligerent, rebellious, obnoxious, cruel, tormenting, destructive or non-cooperative, know that you are witnessing the behavior of a person whose bucket is empty. Psychiatric, psychological, educational, or intuitive diagnosis is unlikely to add much to your knowledge about how to react or respond to him. If the diagnosis suggests a procedure or method of approach which is successfully employed and a positive change occurs in the child, you will know that his bucket must have been filled. Because his bucket was filled, he feels good about himself. When he comes to feel sufficiently good about himself, he will no longer need to respond as he did formerly.
The imperishable child within the adults you see all around you (as well as in your mirror), will respond likewise when his bucket contains a sufficient amount to tip the balance in favor of positive and pro-life attitudes.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
- - - 1 Corinthians 13:11
The world of the child is largely created for him by the adults in his environment. He has little or no control over the kind of input he receives. His self concept is therefore quite dependent upon how he is treated and what is said and done to him. This is appropriate and necessary for the child.
Sad to say, most of us, as adults, continue to function in much the same manner as when we were children. We continue to expect others to make us feel good and we blame them for making us feel bad. This is not only inappropriate for and adult but it is also quite unnecessary While it appears to be true that most of us will always need and welcome support from those around us, it is not true that we are entirely dependent upon them. Yet, many of us never seem to discover this basic truth.
Because we apparently never eliminate many of our past learnings, even when harmed by them, it would be quite helpful if more people became aware of another way of thinking about the self that is, perhaps, a little easier to understand than some of the commonly accepted ways. A simple analogy is presented below which can be useful in helping to understand certain aspects of any personal relationship. However, it is particularly relevant when dealing with children or when observing many of the personal, emotional interchanges between and among children.
Let us imagine and conceive of ourself as if we were a bucket. How we feel and how we will behave at any given moment is dependent upon how much or how little we have in our buckets. If our bucket is filled to overflowing, (which almost never happens), we will feel joy, have energy, and look forward to each day with enthusiasm. We will radiate warmth, be tolerant, forgiving, understanding and supporting of others. We will be glad we are alive and will exultantly proclaim, "Life is good." This is a well-developed pro-life viewpoint.
If our buckets are completely empty, (which almost never happens), we will feel and display all those characteristics which are opposite to those just stated. We will fell depressed, have little energy, and dread the coming of the next day. We will be unhappy, bitter, complaining, vindictive, and non-supporting of others. We will whine and miserably or angrily proclaim: "Life is lousy, purposeless, and hopeless." This is a well-developed anti-life viewpoint.
When faced with a person whose bucket is empty, most of us tend to become defensive---we feel threatened, fearful, hurt, or angry. It is likely that if we are strongly attacked verbally, we will respond in similar fashion. The emotional heat so generated is often not conducive to the development of healthy working relationships, not to the development of kindly feeling toward our attacker.
If we understood and applied the idea of ourself as a bucket, we might discover that we would be able to behave quite differently than is usually expected. For example, when an attack is being directed toward us, rather than feeling hurt or counterattacking, we might find that we will be able to calmly view the upset person from a non emotional vantage point. We could then say to ourselves: ‘Oh, you poor thing! You must have an empty bucket!" This places the attacker in an entirely different perspective. It can make us realize that his state of distress has very little to do with us, even though he seems to think it does. We will be able to realize that he is behaving that way because he feels so bad about himself. His bucket must be empty or else he wouldn’t be behaving that way. We might even be moved to feel genuine sympathy for him.
If we adopted the bucket view of self, we would understand that the motive underlying his attack is more directly attributable to his empty bucket than to anything we might have done to warrant criticism. We would realize that the person who is characteristically bitter is a person who has an empty or near-empty bucket. The bitterness is an expression of that emptiness.
The person with an empty bucket does not feel good about himself. He is actually upset with himself. In fact, he dislikes himself or else he wouldn’t be so consistently hateful toward others. This is axiomatic: anyone who consistently criticizes, finds fault with, demeans, ridicules, or maliciously gossips about another person actually dislikes himself. Furthermore, his behavior may be characterized as an attempt to engage in bucket dipping.
In addition to our buckets, each of us is equipped with a dipper. The consistently negative person keeps his dipper working overtime in a futile attempt to diminish another person and seemingly enhance himself. He may often succeed in the former, but he always fails miserably in the latter. It is impossible to fill one’s own bucket by dipping into another’s.
Knowing that each of us has a dipper as well as a bucket, makes it possible to understand some otherwise fairly inexplicable behavior. It also becomes relatively easy to identify those who approach each day with dipper clutched firmly in hand, frantically engaged in attempting to empty the buckets of those around them. Finally, this view of behavior allows us to cast our own reactions in a different light.
The task then, for a concerned human being who is striving to become more pro-life and more positive, is to exercise every opportunity to help fill another’s bucket and to become intently alert to the spontaneously negative use of his own dipper.
How we go about attempting to fill buckets, to help another person feel better about himself, is actually already well-known by most of us; although, we perhaps never realized quite how or why it was so significant. We fill others’ buckets by giving them sincere praise, compliments, accepting smiles, and displaying concerned interest. Strangely and inexplicably, we can add to our own buckets most directly and most mysteriously by working diligently to put drops into another person’s bucket. Under no circumstances do we ever add drops to our own by dipping into another bucket.
Children are relatively helpless. If more time and energy is spent dipping from their buckets than is spent putting drops into them, they have little recourse available to them other than to cringe in defeat or strike out in retaliation. Thus, the constant ever present phenomenon of children tormenting one another (as well as aiming their dippers at adults), is a relentless quest to "get even." Of course they never succeed. But, their attempt can be understood as an unconscious understanding of at least one half of our concept of buckets and dippers . . . they realize that others have buckets which often contain considerably more than they, themselves, possess. They wrongfully believe that if they dip sufficiently deep enough and often enough, they will not only diminish the supply of the envied one, but will somehow add the stolen drops to their own impoverished supply. Their temporary smile of sadistic satisfaction is soon overcome by the stark reality of the barrenness of their internal environment and they repeat their foolish and harmful bucket-dipping behavior.
When you next look upon or have occasion to relate to a child who is angry, sullen, whining, belligerent, rebellious, obnoxious, cruel, tormenting, destructive or non-cooperative, know that you are witnessing the behavior of a person whose bucket is empty. Psychiatric, psychological, educational, or intuitive diagnosis is unlikely to add much to your knowledge about how to react or respond to him. If the diagnosis suggests a procedure or method of approach which is successfully employed and a positive change occurs in the child, you will know that his bucket must have been filled. Because his bucket was filled, he feels good about himself. When he comes to feel sufficiently good about himself, he will no longer need to respond as he did formerly.
The imperishable child within the adults you see all around you (as well as in your mirror), will respond likewise when his bucket contains a sufficient amount to tip the balance in favor of positive and pro-life attitudes.
The Bucket and the Dipper
The Bucket and the Dipper
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. - Ephesians 4:29
Once upon a time it was discovered that everyone has a bucket. No kidding. It's a bucket which is kind of like a cup -- in that it can be filled .. . even to overflowing. I guess it's sort of like a source of peace, comfort, love, strength, and such. And the fuller it is, the easier it is to share what's in the bucket with others.
There are a lot of wonderful ways in which we can put things in each others' buckets. For example, we can say, "Good Morning!" when we see each other. That's a great way to put something in someone else's bucket. And, you can double the contribution by adding someone's name -- "Good Morning, Mrs. Smith!" Other things which can fill up a bucket are hugs, listening, sincere praise, pointing out strengths, being sensitive to needs (and doing some- thing about them when you can), cheerfulness, honesty, patience (almost sounds like a description of THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST: CHARITY, when you think about it). Anyway, one of the things we all ought to spend time doing, is helping to fill others' buckets.
Now. . . it must needs be, so they say, that there is opposition in all things. And so, just as we all have a bucket, we all have a dipper. And sometimes, other people can get their dipper in your bucket!! It's been known to happen!
Just imagine that we're going out to eat with some friends at a nice restaurant. There'll be fine linens and candles and everything. We're sitting at the table, visiting and I accidentally knock over my glass of V-8 juice. Big red spot. I am so embarrassed. I am turning redder than usual. But, the juice just keeps crawling across the table right toward our hostess. It's like a flood! It won't stop! And, then finally it does dribble on her! She jumps a little, but is being nice even though it's wet and gooey. And then, old bright eyes, down the table a little, looks up and says, "You spilled your juice." He got HIS dipper in MY bucket!
Tell me how old you have to be to know... you made a mistake!? ...that you're not perfect!?
Can you remember sitting down to breakfast with your family and your little brother spilled his milk? And about 35 people (it seemed) said "You spilled your milk!" All those great big dippers in such a tiny little bucket!
Have you ever noticed that when your bucket is low, or empty -- when you need most to have someone put something in it -- THAT is when you're most irritable to people? We chase people away when we need them most.
We try hard to figure out WHY we run around with our dippers out. We're busy trying to get our dippers in other people's buckets -- and they don't want their bucket to have our dipper in it!
This is where the trap is. Have you ever noticed that when you get your dipper in somebody's bucket . . . you're pointing out some- thing wrong with them? You tell them they've got wrinkles in their socks and they don't have them on yet? You tell her she's moody and then you find out she's got a toothache. You tell someone there's a spot on their face and then find out that your glasses are dirty. You've got YOUR dipper in someone else's bucket! It might feel good, sort of, when you first shove your dipper into someone else's bucket -- but after a while it doesn't feel good anymore.
Do you know what a DIP-IN is? It's not exactly like a drive-in or a sit-in. . . It's when several people get together and just DIP someone good! Next time you realize that's happening, point it out and then stop. "Hey, we've all got our dippers in little sister's bucket! Let's fill it instead of emptying it!"
Sometimes you say to yourself, "Self, she's got a LID on her bucket!" Or you may ask, "Hey, does anyone know where I can buy a lid for my bucket? There are a lot of DIPS around this place! Some of you may even think you don't HAVE a bucket! Or you may feel that your bucket's been shot full of holes.
Well, for SURE we're just not the same when our bucket is empty, and that's all there is to it. And, we're not the same when we're dipping instead of filling, and that's all there is to that, too! My friends, keep your dippers out of other's buckets. FILL their buckets . . . you'll discover yours is getting fuller too. Full and overflowing -- you'll have so much, much more to share. It really could be that way. It really CAN be that way. Love one another . . . enrich and lift and bless and fill one another."
Author Unknown
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. - 1 John 4:12Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Book of Mormon and The TV Guide
On the table, side by sideSide By Side
The Book of Mormon and the TV Guide
One is well worn and cherished with pride;
Not the Book of Mormon, but the TV guide,
One is used daily to help folks decide,
No, not the Book of Mormon, but the TV Guide.
As the pages are turned, what shall they see?
Oh, what does it matter, turn on the TV!
So they opened the book from which they confide,
No, not the Book of Mormon, but the TV guide.
The word of God is seldom read
Maybe a verse or two before they fall to bed,
Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be,
Not from reading the scriptures, but from watching TV.
So back to the table, side by side
The Book of Mormon, and the TV Guide
But is found in the Book of Mormon, not on the TV.
Friday, March 20, 2009
The World VS The Lord
The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ would change human nature. Christ changes men and changed men change the world -- Ezra Taft Benson
Saturday, March 14, 2009
When is a Man Educated.
I once was in a group of men where there was a very learned man in the midst.
Another educated man came into the room and was asked to introduce himself.
The man introduced himself and explained that he had just moved to the area for his Job as a professor at the local University. He stated he had just received his PHD and was happy to have a job in that area. As the meeting commenced the Young professor made a comment and immediately the Old professor very forcefully shouted I disagree with that man, and proceeded to give some meaningless explanation to validate his disagreement. It seemed this Old professor felt threatened by the young professor because there was now 2 PHD's in the room. As the meeting wore on The Old Professor sang himself praises to demonstrate his Alpha Male status. The young professor it being his first day chose the high road and just remained silent for the remainder of the meeting.
We are taught in the scriptures the person with much learning or the (natural man) is an Enemy to God and has been from the creation of Adam. An educated man is what the Lord would have us become.
A man knows when he is educated by a few things.
When he can look out upon the universe.
See the Glorious and Terrible
The dark and the Luminous with a sense of his own littleness in the grand scheme of things.
And yet have faith Hope and courage.
He is educated when he knows how to make friends and keep them.
And above all when he is friends with himself.
When he can look at an honest man or pure woman straight in the eye no matter how plain they may seem.
When he loves flowers an values nature.
When he can hunt a bird without a gun.
When he can feel the stir of forgotten joy in the laughter of a little child.
When he knows that hoeing corn is as honorable as playing golf.
When star crowned trees and sunlight on flowering waters subdue his soul,
like the thought of one much loved but long dead.
When he can be happy and high minded amid the drudgery of life
When he can look into the very face of the most forlorn mortal soul and see something besides sin.
When he know how to pray. And is humble enough that he can hear an answer.
When he is a friend of all good causes and the champion of those who fall.
When little children love to see him because of the smile on his face.
When he can be happy alone.
when he has put away childish things and yet has kept through the good and bad days a open mind and a child's heart.
When he has been true to himself and his fellow men and to his God
Glad to live but not afraid to die.
Such a man is an educated soul whether he be famous or obscure rich or poor,
high or low.
It does not take an AA,AS - BS,BA - MD. or PHD to Serve the Lord.
It only takes a willingness to serve and at that moment He will qualify you for the work.
By D. Newburn
Another educated man came into the room and was asked to introduce himself.
The man introduced himself and explained that he had just moved to the area for his Job as a professor at the local University. He stated he had just received his PHD and was happy to have a job in that area. As the meeting commenced the Young professor made a comment and immediately the Old professor very forcefully shouted I disagree with that man, and proceeded to give some meaningless explanation to validate his disagreement. It seemed this Old professor felt threatened by the young professor because there was now 2 PHD's in the room. As the meeting wore on The Old Professor sang himself praises to demonstrate his Alpha Male status. The young professor it being his first day chose the high road and just remained silent for the remainder of the meeting.
We are taught in the scriptures the person with much learning or the (natural man) is an Enemy to God and has been from the creation of Adam. An educated man is what the Lord would have us become.
A man knows when he is educated by a few things.
When he can look out upon the universe.
See the Glorious and Terrible
The dark and the Luminous with a sense of his own littleness in the grand scheme of things.
And yet have faith Hope and courage.
He is educated when he knows how to make friends and keep them.
And above all when he is friends with himself.
When he can look at an honest man or pure woman straight in the eye no matter how plain they may seem.
When he loves flowers an values nature.
When he can hunt a bird without a gun.
When he can feel the stir of forgotten joy in the laughter of a little child.
When he knows that hoeing corn is as honorable as playing golf.
When star crowned trees and sunlight on flowering waters subdue his soul,
like the thought of one much loved but long dead.
When he can be happy and high minded amid the drudgery of life
When he can look into the very face of the most forlorn mortal soul and see something besides sin.
When he know how to pray. And is humble enough that he can hear an answer.
When he is a friend of all good causes and the champion of those who fall.
When little children love to see him because of the smile on his face.
When he can be happy alone.
when he has put away childish things and yet has kept through the good and bad days a open mind and a child's heart.
When he has been true to himself and his fellow men and to his God
Glad to live but not afraid to die.
Such a man is an educated soul whether he be famous or obscure rich or poor,
high or low.
It does not take an AA,AS - BS,BA - MD. or PHD to Serve the Lord.
It only takes a willingness to serve and at that moment He will qualify you for the work.
By D. Newburn
Food for Thought
It is impossible to rise Higher as a Leader than we rise as an Individual.
Reputation is what men and women think of us
Character is what God Knows of Us.
Nothing sets one out of the devil's reach so much as Humility.
Always hold your head up but be careful to keep your nose at a friendly level.
If you are right, take the humble side and you will help the other fellow.
If you are wrong, take the humble side and you will help yourself.
The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story but writes another. His humblest hour comes when he compares the volume as it is written with what he vowed to write.
Aristotle wrote:
Anybody can become angry that is easy;
but to be angry with the right person
and to the right degree
and at the right time
and for the right purpose
and in the right way
that is not within everybody's power
and is not easy.
A good leader inspires others with confidence in him.
A great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves;
Nothing will be right to the man whose heart is wrong.
Ability will enable a man to get to the top
but character is the only thing that will keep him there.
There is a must for one who desires leadership.
Learn to obey before you command.
You can be called into a position of leadership and turn around
waving your hands up in the air beckoning the flock to follow you.
And turn around only to realize not one soul is in line.
To be an effective leader one must have the attention,respect and devotion
of the flock and this comes when a leader realizes he is there
To serve NOT to be served.
Reputation is what men and women think of us
Character is what God Knows of Us.
Nothing sets one out of the devil's reach so much as Humility.
Always hold your head up but be careful to keep your nose at a friendly level.
If you are right, take the humble side and you will help the other fellow.
If you are wrong, take the humble side and you will help yourself.
The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story but writes another. His humblest hour comes when he compares the volume as it is written with what he vowed to write.
Aristotle wrote:
Anybody can become angry that is easy;
but to be angry with the right person
and to the right degree
and at the right time
and for the right purpose
and in the right way
that is not within everybody's power
and is not easy.
A good leader inspires others with confidence in him.
A great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves;
Nothing will be right to the man whose heart is wrong.
Ability will enable a man to get to the top
but character is the only thing that will keep him there.
There is a must for one who desires leadership.
Learn to obey before you command.
You can be called into a position of leadership and turn around
waving your hands up in the air beckoning the flock to follow you.
And turn around only to realize not one soul is in line.
To be an effective leader one must have the attention,respect and devotion
of the flock and this comes when a leader realizes he is there
To serve NOT to be served.
Longfellow of Harvard University
LONGFELLOW Of Harvard began his first year of regular, prescribed duties in
September 1837. He was tingling with energy, confidence, and
cheerfulness. "I shall commence the Term in great spirits, and
lecture on the Faust of Göthe."1 He did more than the minimum pre
scribed. He was ever industrious. "The arrangement with the Com
mittee requires me to lecture but once a week. I'll throw in the other, to
show, that I am not reluctant to work; and likewise for my own good;
--namely, to make me read attentively--give me practice--and keep
me from growing indolent."2 This fervor subsided gradually, but never
was lost completely. In 1847, Longfellow wrote in his journal: "This
term I have three classes; two in Molière and one in Dante. No col
lege work could possibly be pleasanter."3 Even near the end of his
teaching career, Longfellow wrote of his lectures with warmth and
enthusiasm. One day one of Longfellows students asked him
"How do you Keep so Young Professor Longfellow??" We never get tired of your classes. You always have something interesting to give.
Professor Longfellow responded "I've never had that question put to me before" as he gazed out the window. Longfellow then said "do you see the difference between those 2 apple trees in the yard??
No replied the student, they look alike to me.
Longfellow replied How do you account for the fact that the old apple trees flowers out as beautifully as does the young one?
The student at a loss for words said I don't know I cant explain it.
Longfellow said Let me tell you a secret. That old tree managed last year to grow enough new wood to put forth its new blossoms. Blossoms you know come only on new wood.
Oh I see said the young man to keep young one must keep growing. Yes came the quiet response.
For any one who has been around fruit trees it seems like if a tree does not bloom it will soon die, To me it is almost as if it has nothing to live for.
Likewise we must never we stop growing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as we grow in the gospel it is only natural for us to blossom and bring forth new wood and new fruit. The tree never knows the impact its fruit has on the receiver. Likewise we may never know the impact our fruit has on the ones around us.
September 1837. He was tingling with energy, confidence, and
cheerfulness. "I shall commence the Term in great spirits, and
lecture on the Faust of Göthe."1 He did more than the minimum pre
scribed. He was ever industrious. "The arrangement with the Com
mittee requires me to lecture but once a week. I'll throw in the other, to
show, that I am not reluctant to work; and likewise for my own good;
--namely, to make me read attentively--give me practice--and keep
me from growing indolent."2 This fervor subsided gradually, but never
was lost completely. In 1847, Longfellow wrote in his journal: "This
term I have three classes; two in Molière and one in Dante. No col
lege work could possibly be pleasanter."3 Even near the end of his
teaching career, Longfellow wrote of his lectures with warmth and
enthusiasm. One day one of Longfellows students asked him
"How do you Keep so Young Professor Longfellow??" We never get tired of your classes. You always have something interesting to give.
Professor Longfellow responded "I've never had that question put to me before" as he gazed out the window. Longfellow then said "do you see the difference between those 2 apple trees in the yard??
No replied the student, they look alike to me.
Longfellow replied How do you account for the fact that the old apple trees flowers out as beautifully as does the young one?
The student at a loss for words said I don't know I cant explain it.
Longfellow said Let me tell you a secret. That old tree managed last year to grow enough new wood to put forth its new blossoms. Blossoms you know come only on new wood.
Oh I see said the young man to keep young one must keep growing. Yes came the quiet response.
For any one who has been around fruit trees it seems like if a tree does not bloom it will soon die, To me it is almost as if it has nothing to live for.
Likewise we must never we stop growing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as we grow in the gospel it is only natural for us to blossom and bring forth new wood and new fruit. The tree never knows the impact its fruit has on the receiver. Likewise we may never know the impact our fruit has on the ones around us.
Just Killing Time
In this life it seems we are constantly at battle with the Time clock.
Many times It seems like I am reliving the movie Ground Hogs Day.
There are so many things to occupy our time and as a consequence we put off to tomorrow what we should have done today.
The other day I ran into a man I have not seen in over 20 years while we were talking his son walked up. I soon realized he was 25 years old. I almost fainted on the floor to realize that much time had passed since I had seen this man. I recall the time because his little son was about 5 years old the last time I saw him.
As I contemplated that single event I became very conscious of how we can let time get away from us. This man was in the scouting program at church when I was a youth. He was a great man with a loving desire to help the youth and the ward. He was active for about 2 years and as always happens change came to the ward. Through these changes in the ward and personality conflicts he fell away and has now been lost for 20 years. To think of this makes me physically sick.
When I was released from my labors as a Full time LDS missionary at the age of 21 My Stake President gave me some council that I thought was rather silly and trivial at the time but it has stuck with me.
He told me the best thing I could do in this life is forgive every man before he offends me. He said if I could do this I would find happiness in this life.
I am now 35 years old, 14 years has passed and it is only now that I am beginning to appreciate understand and begin to try to heed those words of council.
When we are offended more often that not we neglect the things the Lord would have us do. This is Satans plan. If he can get you offended then you loose the desire to accomplish the Lords Work.
The Lord Does not care about our abilities.
He only cares about our availability to be an instrument in his hand.
All of the abilities in the world are for naught if we are unwilling to humble ourselves and submit to the Master, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As we go through the upcoming weeks let us try to remember to be a little more understanding. Many times when we get mad with someone it is because we have not walked a mile in his or her moccasins. Only when their story is shared with us do we truly understand and appreciate their actions. If you still catch yourself becoming offended stop and realize what Old scratch is trying accomplish. And say a silent prayer for you and that individual.
The Savior taught constantly through his ministry and death, for us to forgive.
We see it illustrated as he hung on the cross he uttered the words,
Father Forgive Them For They Know Not What They Do.
We are taught in the scriptures in Mosiah 2:17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
The biggest compliment you could ever give someone is your time.
Time is the most valuable possession one has.
If someone spends an hour with you they had to give up that hour in another facet of their life.
There is no Higher Honor that can be paid other than Death and in death you have given up your time.
I once heard a quote that said.
The saddest words of tongue or pen is what might have been.
Had I only done (????????)
The time is now..
Don't put off to tomorrow
The things that ought to be done TODAY.
Many times It seems like I am reliving the movie Ground Hogs Day.
There are so many things to occupy our time and as a consequence we put off to tomorrow what we should have done today.
The other day I ran into a man I have not seen in over 20 years while we were talking his son walked up. I soon realized he was 25 years old. I almost fainted on the floor to realize that much time had passed since I had seen this man. I recall the time because his little son was about 5 years old the last time I saw him.
As I contemplated that single event I became very conscious of how we can let time get away from us. This man was in the scouting program at church when I was a youth. He was a great man with a loving desire to help the youth and the ward. He was active for about 2 years and as always happens change came to the ward. Through these changes in the ward and personality conflicts he fell away and has now been lost for 20 years. To think of this makes me physically sick.
When I was released from my labors as a Full time LDS missionary at the age of 21 My Stake President gave me some council that I thought was rather silly and trivial at the time but it has stuck with me.
He told me the best thing I could do in this life is forgive every man before he offends me. He said if I could do this I would find happiness in this life.
I am now 35 years old, 14 years has passed and it is only now that I am beginning to appreciate understand and begin to try to heed those words of council.
When we are offended more often that not we neglect the things the Lord would have us do. This is Satans plan. If he can get you offended then you loose the desire to accomplish the Lords Work.
The Lord Does not care about our abilities.
He only cares about our availability to be an instrument in his hand.
All of the abilities in the world are for naught if we are unwilling to humble ourselves and submit to the Master, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As we go through the upcoming weeks let us try to remember to be a little more understanding. Many times when we get mad with someone it is because we have not walked a mile in his or her moccasins. Only when their story is shared with us do we truly understand and appreciate their actions. If you still catch yourself becoming offended stop and realize what Old scratch is trying accomplish. And say a silent prayer for you and that individual.
The Savior taught constantly through his ministry and death, for us to forgive.
We see it illustrated as he hung on the cross he uttered the words,
Father Forgive Them For They Know Not What They Do.
We are taught in the scriptures in Mosiah 2:17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
The biggest compliment you could ever give someone is your time.
Time is the most valuable possession one has.
If someone spends an hour with you they had to give up that hour in another facet of their life.
There is no Higher Honor that can be paid other than Death and in death you have given up your time.
I once heard a quote that said.
The saddest words of tongue or pen is what might have been.
Had I only done (????????)
The time is now..
Don't put off to tomorrow
The things that ought to be done TODAY.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Starfish Thrower
adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley
1907 - 1977
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself as he the thought of someone who would dance to the day. The old man picked up his pace so he could catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "as he Threw another starfish into the ocean."
"The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are thousands of starfish all along every mile? Don't You realize that you can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man simply bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean and turned and said well it mattered to that one.
Often in life we look upon a task and see it as insurmountable.
It is in those moments we need to step back and pray to gain a vision of the big picture the Lord has for us.
The Lord works by small means to bring about great miracles.
The ant did not eat the elephant all in one sitting he did it one bite at a time.
If we are to accomplish the purposes the Lord has for us to do in this life we must not loose sight of the plain and precious truths of his gospel. For more information on the Lords plan see: http://mormon.org
by Loren Eiseley
1907 - 1977
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself as he the thought of someone who would dance to the day. The old man picked up his pace so he could catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "as he Threw another starfish into the ocean."
"The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are thousands of starfish all along every mile? Don't You realize that you can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man simply bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean and turned and said well it mattered to that one.
Often in life we look upon a task and see it as insurmountable.
It is in those moments we need to step back and pray to gain a vision of the big picture the Lord has for us.
The Lord works by small means to bring about great miracles.
The ant did not eat the elephant all in one sitting he did it one bite at a time.
If we are to accomplish the purposes the Lord has for us to do in this life we must not loose sight of the plain and precious truths of his gospel. For more information on the Lords plan see: http://mormon.org
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The little Indian boy and the Snake
Once upon a time there was a little Indian boy out climbing a nearby mountain on one cold winter day. While he was hiking he came across a rattle snake laying in the path. The snake was shivering, and said to the boy. "Please help me. I can't move, I am so cold that I can no longer make it any further down the mountain." The boy said to the snake "No way! You're a snake, if I pick you up, you'll bite me! " The snake replied. "No, no I won't, I promise I won't bite you. If you help me you will be different. You will be my best friend why would I harm you. The snake was very cunning and very persistent in his pleading. So the young boy picked up the snake, put him in his shirt, and down the path. When the little Indian boy got back down to the bottom of the mountain, he reached in, took out the snake, and the snake bit the young boy. The boy replied to the snake "Hey! You bit me, you said that if I'd help you out, that you wouldn't bite me! "The snake replied "But you knew what I was when you picked me up!"
So often in life we believe that we can associate with sin and not suffer any consequences. Let us remember Satin only ask for you to let him allow his toe to rest upon your door. But before you know it he is in your house. If you allow him to ride with you the next thing he will want to do is drive. I pray that we will be wise in our daily activities so we will not become causality of unrighteousness.
So often in life we believe that we can associate with sin and not suffer any consequences. Let us remember Satin only ask for you to let him allow his toe to rest upon your door. But before you know it he is in your house. If you allow him to ride with you the next thing he will want to do is drive. I pray that we will be wise in our daily activities so we will not become causality of unrighteousness.
The little things
We do not know the impact we have with the little things we do
I found this story I am not sure of the validity of it but it teaches a great lesson in life. Be careful in life so you are never be too busy to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Kyle.
It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
He must really be a nerd.'
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks. '
They really should get lives.
"He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!"
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked hi m why I had never seen him before.
He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends
He said yes.
We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
When we were seniors we began to think about college.
Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
Thanks,' he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach. but mostly your friends...
I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
I am going to tell you a story.'
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
Thankfully, I was saved.
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions.
With on e small gesture you can change a person's life.
For better or for worse.
God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.
Look for Good in others.
And through your service you will find the masters face has become engraven upon your countenance
When you are in the service of your fellow man
you are only in the service of your God
I found this story I am not sure of the validity of it but it teaches a great lesson in life. Be careful in life so you are never be too busy to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Kyle.
It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
He must really be a nerd.'
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks. '
They really should get lives.
"He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!"
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked hi m why I had never seen him before.
He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends
He said yes.
We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
When we were seniors we began to think about college.
Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
Thanks,' he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach. but mostly your friends...
I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
I am going to tell you a story.'
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
Thankfully, I was saved.
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions.
With on e small gesture you can change a person's life.
For better or for worse.
God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.
Look for Good in others.
And through your service you will find the masters face has become engraven upon your countenance
When you are in the service of your fellow man
you are only in the service of your God
World Without Me??
When you are down and out and feeling blue
Just remember the Mighty Oak
was once a Nut Just Like You.
sit back and take stock of your life as you read the next 11
1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
Just remember the Mighty Oak
was once a Nut Just Like You.
sit back and take stock of your life as you read the next 11
1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
Lifes Road
In life there are many roads we have to choose from
some roads come to a fork where we must choose
yet others have many curves and hills but seldom lead us astray
while some roads seem to go on forever without a single curve
On this road we call life there are many times issues are encountered by chance
but so often God determines who walks into your life...
As our agency is God Given it's up to you to decide
who you let walk away,
who you let stay,
and who you refuse to let go.
slow down and enjoy the good things in life
some roads come to a fork where we must choose
yet others have many curves and hills but seldom lead us astray
while some roads seem to go on forever without a single curve
On this road we call life there are many times issues are encountered by chance
but so often God determines who walks into your life...
As our agency is God Given it's up to you to decide
who you let walk away,
who you let stay,
and who you refuse to let go.
slow down and enjoy the good things in life
Trying to do the job alone
Trying to do the Job alone
In life so many times I have caught my self trying to take upon myself too many obligations.
I have struggled with trying to do the job by myself to make sure it is done right.
However being right is relative.
There are many ways to be right and most of the time there is more than one right answer to a given problem.
More often than not we neglect to invite the Lord to our meeting of the minds.
I can remember many times working so hard to solve a problem and after many hours of brainstorming and frustration I gave up and at long last remembered that I should ask the Lord for help.
There have been many times my prayers for guidance has been almost immediate.
What a testimony of the power of prayer.
As I have thought of this principal I recalled a story that illustrates my point.
The story is called.
Trying to do the Job alone.
Dear Sir.
I am responding to your request for additional information regarding how my recent injury occurred. In block number 3 of your accident report form I put "trying to do the job alone" as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully. I trust that the following details will be sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident I was working alone on the roof of a new six story building. When I completed my work I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of bricks left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley, which fortunately was attached to the side of the building at the 6th floor.
Securing the rope at the ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks. You will note in Block number 2 of the accident report form that my weight is 135 pounds.
Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly I lost my presence-of-mind and didn't let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the third floor I met the barrel coming down. This explains my fractured skull and collarbone.
Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.
Fortunately, by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain.
At approximately the same time however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of bricks, the barrel then weighed approximately 50 lbs.
I refer you again to the information in Block number 2. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and the lacerations of my legs and lower body.
The encounter of the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks and fortunately, only 3 vertebrae were cracked.
I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay in pain on the bricks, unable to stand-up, and watching the empty barrel 6 stories above me, I again lost my presence of mind and let go of the rope. The empty barrel weighed more than the rope so it came down upon me and broke both of my legs.
So many times we think that we can take the weight of an issue all upon our shoulders all at once.
A Gold medal Olympian does not earn his medal over night.
It takes the help of others and practice each day to reach their full potential
As we look upon our lifes at the insurmountable burdens
Let us remember If the Lord does not remove our afflictions when we want, it may be for our good and to fulfill His purposes, though we may not always understand why at the moment. Such times can be a test of faith or even a learning experience. Divine comfort, support, or deliverance may well come later. A scriptural example is the Savior’s intentional delay in going to Bethany to help Lazarus see John 11:4, 6, 21–44.
Another example of delayed deliverance occurred on the Sea of Galilee, when the Lord did not immediately calm the storm. Even as gusting winds and waves tossed and covered the boat to the point that His disciples believed they would perish, the Master slept see Matt. 8:23–26. Then in a majestic exercise of divine power, the Lord controlled the elements, subdued the storm, and brought calm. The disciples “marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” see Matt. 8:27.
Friday, February 27, 2009
The Story of The Battle Ships
One day there was a group of battle ships out in the ocean on manuvers
On one of the Battle ships there was an announcement made
Steady Captain!!!!!!!
Which means that they are on a dangerous collision course
The Captain said send a message and tell them to change their course by 20 degrees
the message was sent
a few moments later the message was returned
We suggest you change your course by 20 degrees
Send the message back and tell them I am a captain
You change your course by 20 degrees!!!!!
The message came back I am a seaman 2nd class
You change your course by 20 degrees!!!
As you could imagine by this time the captain was irate
So he said you send a message and tell them that I am a battleship
You change your course by 20 degrees
Well a reply came back I am a light house
You change your course by 20 degrees
Needless to say we know who changed their course by 20 degrees
No matter what our position in life
we need to never loose sight of the need to seek
guidance.
Often times if we will just change our course by 20 degrees
we can overcome the issues tomorrow that seem insurmountable today.
On one of the Battle ships there was an announcement made
Steady Captain!!!!!!!
Which means that they are on a dangerous collision course
The Captain said send a message and tell them to change their course by 20 degrees
the message was sent
a few moments later the message was returned
We suggest you change your course by 20 degrees
Send the message back and tell them I am a captain
You change your course by 20 degrees!!!!!
The message came back I am a seaman 2nd class
You change your course by 20 degrees!!!
As you could imagine by this time the captain was irate
So he said you send a message and tell them that I am a battleship
You change your course by 20 degrees
Well a reply came back I am a light house
You change your course by 20 degrees
Needless to say we know who changed their course by 20 degrees
No matter what our position in life
we need to never loose sight of the need to seek
guidance.
Often times if we will just change our course by 20 degrees
we can overcome the issues tomorrow that seem insurmountable today.
The Dead Duck
A wealthy plantation owner took Sam, his hired hand hunting ducks one Saturday morning
As they walked along, the boss said, Sam, you believe in God don't you?
And Sam replied, "Yes"
The boss said I don't.
He then said why is it , Sam that I who don't believe in God and I have so much,
and You who believe in God have so little?
I have everything a man could want, but you have almost nothing.
Sam had never thought of that before so he said,
boss i really don't have an answer to that question give me a little while to think this matter over.
So the boss agreed
Sam began to offer a silent prayer in an effort to find an answer to this question.
Just then they came onto a lake and up flew a flock of ducks.
the boss shot and dropped 2 ducks
One was dead and the other was wounded.
Just as Sam went out to get the ducks,
Sam's boss yelled and said get the wounded one first
Or he will get away
He smirked and laughed as he said, (The dead one isn't going anywhere.)
Just then Sam started to smile, his prayer had been answered
As Sam was walking back to his boss he had a smile from ear to ear.
It was such a big smile the boss had to laugh.
Sam said, Boss you have just answered your own question.
His boss replied what do you mean.
Sam said Boss you are the dead duck.
Satan knows I believe in God and he is doing all in his power to make me change my belief.
He knows when he gets through with me
You will always be there.
Doctrine and Covenants 58:4
For after much tribulation come the blessing
Wherefore the day cometh that
Ye shall be crowned with much glory;
the hour is not yet but it is nigh at hand.
Ether 12:27
And if men come unto me I will show
unto them their weakness
I give unto men weakness that they may be humble
And my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves
before me, for if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me then
will I make weak things become strong unto them.
As they walked along, the boss said, Sam, you believe in God don't you?
And Sam replied, "Yes"
The boss said I don't.
He then said why is it , Sam that I who don't believe in God and I have so much,
and You who believe in God have so little?
I have everything a man could want, but you have almost nothing.
Sam had never thought of that before so he said,
boss i really don't have an answer to that question give me a little while to think this matter over.
So the boss agreed
Sam began to offer a silent prayer in an effort to find an answer to this question.
Just then they came onto a lake and up flew a flock of ducks.
the boss shot and dropped 2 ducks
One was dead and the other was wounded.
Just as Sam went out to get the ducks,
Sam's boss yelled and said get the wounded one first
Or he will get away
He smirked and laughed as he said, (The dead one isn't going anywhere.)
Just then Sam started to smile, his prayer had been answered
As Sam was walking back to his boss he had a smile from ear to ear.
It was such a big smile the boss had to laugh.
Sam said, Boss you have just answered your own question.
His boss replied what do you mean.
Sam said Boss you are the dead duck.
Satan knows I believe in God and he is doing all in his power to make me change my belief.
He knows when he gets through with me
You will always be there.
Doctrine and Covenants 58:4
For after much tribulation come the blessing
Wherefore the day cometh that
Ye shall be crowned with much glory;
the hour is not yet but it is nigh at hand.
Ether 12:27
And if men come unto me I will show
unto them their weakness
I give unto men weakness that they may be humble
And my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves
before me, for if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me then
will I make weak things become strong unto them.
What is the price of happiness?
Happiness is an elusive thing
It is like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
If we go out deliberately to find it we may have difficulty in catching it.
But if we follow directions closely
Charting our course properly
We will not need to pursue it
It will overtake us and remain with us
What is the price of happiness you ask
One might be surprised at the simplicity of the answer
The treasure House of Happiness is unlocked to those who live the
Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's Purity and Simplicity.
Like a mariner without Stars
Like a traveler without a compass
It is the pre-assurance of supreme happiness
The certainty of a successful life here and of exaltation and eternal life hereafter
come to those who plan to life their lives in complete harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ and then consistently follow the course they have set.
For I the Lord am bound when Ye do what I say
But when Ye do not what I say Ye have no promise.
To learn about how to find happiness through the gospel of Jesus Christ click on the link below
http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng
It is like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
If we go out deliberately to find it we may have difficulty in catching it.
But if we follow directions closely
Charting our course properly
We will not need to pursue it
It will overtake us and remain with us
What is the price of happiness you ask
One might be surprised at the simplicity of the answer
The treasure House of Happiness is unlocked to those who live the
Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's Purity and Simplicity.
Like a mariner without Stars
Like a traveler without a compass
It is the pre-assurance of supreme happiness
The certainty of a successful life here and of exaltation and eternal life hereafter
come to those who plan to life their lives in complete harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ and then consistently follow the course they have set.
For I the Lord am bound when Ye do what I say
But when Ye do not what I say Ye have no promise.
To learn about how to find happiness through the gospel of Jesus Christ click on the link below
http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng
Whats Up With That?
A teenage daughter cam to him one evening and said
Dad, can I use the car tonight
Her father replied
The car is not here
The daughter confused said,
what do you mean where did it go?
I don't know responded her father
I let a man borrow it.
In dismay she said well who is he?
Her father said
I don't know
The daughter was confuse ad feeling her father had lost his mind asked
I dont understand when will he bring it back?
What if he wrecks it or something?
The father said
Mary you seem to be awfully concerned about my car.
She said
DUH Dad its our only car.
The father said
Well you are my only good daughter
She laughed and said
Dad I am you only daughter
He said exactly
You know how you get aggravated when I want to know about your dates.
What you are wearing
who you are going with
what time you will be home
where you are going
If the family car is this important to you
how much more do you think I worry when I do not know where you are
who you are with and what time you will be home
A car can always be replaced
But you my dear are a one of a kind.
Dad, can I use the car tonight
Her father replied
The car is not here
The daughter confused said,
what do you mean where did it go?
I don't know responded her father
I let a man borrow it.
In dismay she said well who is he?
Her father said
I don't know
The daughter was confuse ad feeling her father had lost his mind asked
I dont understand when will he bring it back?
What if he wrecks it or something?
The father said
Mary you seem to be awfully concerned about my car.
She said
DUH Dad its our only car.
The father said
Well you are my only good daughter
She laughed and said
Dad I am you only daughter
He said exactly
You know how you get aggravated when I want to know about your dates.
What you are wearing
who you are going with
what time you will be home
where you are going
If the family car is this important to you
how much more do you think I worry when I do not know where you are
who you are with and what time you will be home
A car can always be replaced
But you my dear are a one of a kind.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Does the Lord really require ME to serve a mission?????
Elder W. Grant Bangerter
President Kimball announced
ALL YOUNG MEN SHOULD SERVE A MISSION.
On certain occasions I have approached young men of missionary age and informed them that they have been called to serve a mission.
Sometimes they explain that they have no desire to go on a mission.
I then tell them that it is immaterial to me whether you serve a mission or not
(OF COURSE IT IS NOT AT ALL IMMATERIAL)
But I say
I am only informing you of the calling the Lord has given you.
They often continue to offer every conceivable excuse to me of why they should not go.
I simply tell them
DON'T TELL ME;
TELL THE LORD
HE IS THE ONE WHO EXTENDED THE CALL
YOU GO AND PRAY AND ASK HIM WHAT HE WANTS YOU TO DO
Almost always they return from that experience saying
well I suppose I had better go on a mission.
For some of them it is then time for me to say
Now we both understand that you are not quite prepared so let us begin to take the steps by which you will be qualified to go.
President Kimball announced
ALL YOUNG MEN SHOULD SERVE A MISSION.
On certain occasions I have approached young men of missionary age and informed them that they have been called to serve a mission.
Sometimes they explain that they have no desire to go on a mission.
I then tell them that it is immaterial to me whether you serve a mission or not
(OF COURSE IT IS NOT AT ALL IMMATERIAL)
But I say
I am only informing you of the calling the Lord has given you.
They often continue to offer every conceivable excuse to me of why they should not go.
I simply tell them
DON'T TELL ME;
TELL THE LORD
HE IS THE ONE WHO EXTENDED THE CALL
YOU GO AND PRAY AND ASK HIM WHAT HE WANTS YOU TO DO
Almost always they return from that experience saying
well I suppose I had better go on a mission.
For some of them it is then time for me to say
Now we both understand that you are not quite prepared so let us begin to take the steps by which you will be qualified to go.
THE TRUE MEASURE OF A MAN
I have often said the true measure of a man is how he conducts himself when he is angry.
It is easy for a man to conduct himself in a noble manner when all is going well.
It is also very easy for a man to fly off the handle and loose his composure, his cool, his religion, when things are not going his way.
May I submit to you the true measure of a man is watching him conduct himself with character and nobility when all is amiss.
In this hour is when the true measure of that man is revealed.
Jesus Christ showed anger when he ejected the money changers from the Temple.
There is Righteous anger.
But far too often men of Nobility (Priesthood Holders) exercise unrighteous dominion because they are not sufficiently prepared spiritually before the battle.
When I was about 13 years old I witnessed a young Member of the bishopric cut his hand wide open. It required over 30 stitches to repair the damage. when it happened all I heard was Oh man I just tore my hand open on this wire.
What an impression that had on my little mind as a Deacon.
Great warriors are not made in the heat of battle.
Great warriors are formed in the non heroic silent silent personal moments as they hone their skills in their years of training and preparation.
When a soldier is trained he is taught to perform in a specific manner without giving it any thought.
His reactions are automatic much like a programed autopilot.
May we choose to train our minds and spirit to become our autopilot.
It is through our Personal time alone with our scriptures and the Holy Spirit when we hone our spirit to meet the battle of every day life.
I use this word Hone with purpose.
A honing tool takes out the rough edges and creates a precision cylinder in an engine. An engine from the factory is fully honed new but as it goes through life little abrasives (sin) wear away at the cylinder and rings leading to engine failure. (spiritual death) I use spiritual death because someone can become spiritually dead with or without the gospel. Everyone has a conscience,(the light of Christ). But the sins of life can damage our precision spirit.
If an engine cylinder is not honed or looses its honing damage results to the engine and the car will not run well. As a visible byproduct is the smoke it leaves behind.
Once this happens the engine must be torn down to have the cylinders honed and have the rings replaced.
The engine block represents our spirit
Our spirit may be damaged but rarely does the Lord Disregard our Spirit
It can always be rebuilt if we are willing to take the time and expense to go through the process.
The only spirits that are disregarded are the Souls whom know beyond any doubt there is a God and actively set out to deny him and destroy his kingdom.
(sons of Perdition)
—2 Thessalonians 2:3-10
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ”
In our life if we do not hone our spirit by abiding by the Lords principals we find ourselves leaving alot of smoke in our wake.
If we continue on this road it eventually leads to a catastrophic engine failure (our spirit) to which there may be no recovery.
In Elbert Hubbard's Scrap book we find some interesting thoughts
The place to take the true measure of a man is nto in the darkest place.
or in the amen corner
nor in a corn field
But by his own fire place
There he lays aside his mask and you may learn whether he is an imp or an angel
a cur or a Kind
A hero or a Humbug
I care not what the world says about him
Whether it crowns him as boss
or pelts him with eggs
I care not a copper what his reputation or religion may be.
If his babies dread his home coming
and his better half swallows her heart every time she ask for a five dollar bill
HE IS A FRAUD OF THE FIRST WATER
Even though he prays at night and in the morning until he is blue in the face
but if his children rush to the door to meet him
and love's sunshine illuminates the face of his wife everytime she hears his foot fall
You can take it for granted that he is pure
For his home is a heaven
I can forgive much in that fellow mortal who would rather have the hate of the whole world
Than the contempt of his wife
A man who would rather call anger to the eyes of a King
Than to see fear in the face of a child.
WE HAVE THUS BEEN TAUGHT IN
THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST
OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
NO OTHER SUCCESS CAN COMPENSATE FOR FAILURE IN THE HOME
It is my prayer that we can learn to be wise and faithful so we may become a Truly Honed Precision instrument in the Lords hand.
It is easy for a man to conduct himself in a noble manner when all is going well.
It is also very easy for a man to fly off the handle and loose his composure, his cool, his religion, when things are not going his way.
May I submit to you the true measure of a man is watching him conduct himself with character and nobility when all is amiss.
In this hour is when the true measure of that man is revealed.
Jesus Christ showed anger when he ejected the money changers from the Temple.
There is Righteous anger.
But far too often men of Nobility (Priesthood Holders) exercise unrighteous dominion because they are not sufficiently prepared spiritually before the battle.
When I was about 13 years old I witnessed a young Member of the bishopric cut his hand wide open. It required over 30 stitches to repair the damage. when it happened all I heard was Oh man I just tore my hand open on this wire.
What an impression that had on my little mind as a Deacon.
Great warriors are not made in the heat of battle.
Great warriors are formed in the non heroic silent silent personal moments as they hone their skills in their years of training and preparation.
When a soldier is trained he is taught to perform in a specific manner without giving it any thought.
His reactions are automatic much like a programed autopilot.
May we choose to train our minds and spirit to become our autopilot.
It is through our Personal time alone with our scriptures and the Holy Spirit when we hone our spirit to meet the battle of every day life.
I use this word Hone with purpose.
A honing tool takes out the rough edges and creates a precision cylinder in an engine. An engine from the factory is fully honed new but as it goes through life little abrasives (sin) wear away at the cylinder and rings leading to engine failure. (spiritual death) I use spiritual death because someone can become spiritually dead with or without the gospel. Everyone has a conscience,(the light of Christ). But the sins of life can damage our precision spirit.
If an engine cylinder is not honed or looses its honing damage results to the engine and the car will not run well. As a visible byproduct is the smoke it leaves behind.
Once this happens the engine must be torn down to have the cylinders honed and have the rings replaced.
The engine block represents our spirit
Our spirit may be damaged but rarely does the Lord Disregard our Spirit
It can always be rebuilt if we are willing to take the time and expense to go through the process.
The only spirits that are disregarded are the Souls whom know beyond any doubt there is a God and actively set out to deny him and destroy his kingdom.
(sons of Perdition)
—2 Thessalonians 2:3-10
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ”
In our life if we do not hone our spirit by abiding by the Lords principals we find ourselves leaving alot of smoke in our wake.
If we continue on this road it eventually leads to a catastrophic engine failure (our spirit) to which there may be no recovery.
In Elbert Hubbard's Scrap book we find some interesting thoughts
The place to take the true measure of a man is nto in the darkest place.
or in the amen corner
nor in a corn field
But by his own fire place
There he lays aside his mask and you may learn whether he is an imp or an angel
a cur or a Kind
A hero or a Humbug
I care not what the world says about him
Whether it crowns him as boss
or pelts him with eggs
I care not a copper what his reputation or religion may be.
If his babies dread his home coming
and his better half swallows her heart every time she ask for a five dollar bill
HE IS A FRAUD OF THE FIRST WATER
Even though he prays at night and in the morning until he is blue in the face
but if his children rush to the door to meet him
and love's sunshine illuminates the face of his wife everytime she hears his foot fall
You can take it for granted that he is pure
For his home is a heaven
I can forgive much in that fellow mortal who would rather have the hate of the whole world
Than the contempt of his wife
A man who would rather call anger to the eyes of a King
Than to see fear in the face of a child.
WE HAVE THUS BEEN TAUGHT IN
THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST
OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
NO OTHER SUCCESS CAN COMPENSATE FOR FAILURE IN THE HOME
It is my prayer that we can learn to be wise and faithful so we may become a Truly Honed Precision instrument in the Lords hand.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A Prophets Final Words of Wisdom
President GORDON B HINCKLEY
i DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT I LOVE TO HEAR THE WORDS OF WISDOM A PROPHET GIVES BEFORE THEY PASS AWAY
President Gordon B Hinckley in one of his last talks left us with this charge
WE OF THIS GENERATION ARE THE END HARVEST OF ALL THAT HAS GONE BEFORE
IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO BE SIMPLY KNOWN AS A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH
A SOLUM OBLIGATION REST UPON YOU
LET US FACE IT AND WORK AT IT
WE MUST LIVE AS TRUE FOLLOWERS OF THE CHRIST
WITH CHARITY TOWARD ALL
RETURNING GOOD FOR EVIL
TEACHING BY EXAMPLE THE WAYS OF THE LORD
AND ACCOMPLISHING THE VAST SERVICE HE HAS OUTLINED FOR US
LET US STAND A LITTLE TALLER
LIFT OUR EYES AND STRETCH OUR MINDS TO A GREATER COMPREHENSION AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE GRAND MELINIAL MISSION OF THIS
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
SOMEHOW AMONG ALL WHO HAVE WALKED THE EARTH
WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FORTH IN THIS UNIQUE AND REMARKABLE SEASON
BE GREATFUL
AND ABOVE ALL BE FAITHFUL
THIS IS MY HUMBLE PRAYER
AS I BEAR WITNESS OF THE TRUTH OF THIS WORK
IN THE SACRED NAME OF JESUS CHRIST AMEN.
i DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT I LOVE TO HEAR THE WORDS OF WISDOM A PROPHET GIVES BEFORE THEY PASS AWAY
President Gordon B Hinckley in one of his last talks left us with this charge
WE OF THIS GENERATION ARE THE END HARVEST OF ALL THAT HAS GONE BEFORE
IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO BE SIMPLY KNOWN AS A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH
A SOLUM OBLIGATION REST UPON YOU
LET US FACE IT AND WORK AT IT
WE MUST LIVE AS TRUE FOLLOWERS OF THE CHRIST
WITH CHARITY TOWARD ALL
RETURNING GOOD FOR EVIL
TEACHING BY EXAMPLE THE WAYS OF THE LORD
AND ACCOMPLISHING THE VAST SERVICE HE HAS OUTLINED FOR US
LET US STAND A LITTLE TALLER
LIFT OUR EYES AND STRETCH OUR MINDS TO A GREATER COMPREHENSION AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE GRAND MELINIAL MISSION OF THIS
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
SOMEHOW AMONG ALL WHO HAVE WALKED THE EARTH
WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FORTH IN THIS UNIQUE AND REMARKABLE SEASON
BE GREATFUL
AND ABOVE ALL BE FAITHFUL
THIS IS MY HUMBLE PRAYER
AS I BEAR WITNESS OF THE TRUTH OF THIS WORK
IN THE SACRED NAME OF JESUS CHRIST AMEN.
WHATS IN A KISS?
The more the dollar is printed,
The less each one is worth.
And so it is with kisses,
You've given since your birth.
The value of your kisses,
A sample cannot measure.
Nor is your kiss more worthy,
If it's said to give one pleasure.
The more and more you give away,
The better your kiss is known.
And to all the world your kiss is
cheap, and your affection shown.
But if you save your kisses,
No matter what the cost.
You'll find as time moves forward,
A chance you've saved, not lost.
And when you find the one you love,
With whom you'll live life through.
Think of the worth of a perfect kiss,
If saved "for only you."
-Alvin W. Jones-
The less each one is worth.
And so it is with kisses,
You've given since your birth.
The value of your kisses,
A sample cannot measure.
Nor is your kiss more worthy,
If it's said to give one pleasure.
The more and more you give away,
The better your kiss is known.
And to all the world your kiss is
cheap, and your affection shown.
But if you save your kisses,
No matter what the cost.
You'll find as time moves forward,
A chance you've saved, not lost.
And when you find the one you love,
With whom you'll live life through.
Think of the worth of a perfect kiss,
If saved "for only you."
-Alvin W. Jones-
WHY IS REPENTANCE SO HARD THE SECOND TIME I FALL?
Have you ever done something wrong in your life?
I know I have.
Have you realized it and repented only to find yourself falling back into the same habit and find yourself fighting to over come that same habit.
Did you notice each time return back to a habit and try to stop, it is much harder the 2nd go around?
Why is that?
in St Luke 11:23-26 and Matthew 12: 43-45
the answer is written
23 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,
(when someone repents)
he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none,
(It seems like the craving for the sin is overwhelming)
he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
(I will return back to the sin)
25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
(when you go back to a sin you are no longer trying to overcome it so every thing seem great at the time)
26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. (This last verse is the reason it is so hard for us to overcome sin the 2nd go around. when we realize we have done something wrong have repented and return to the sin we literally take upon us 7 or more spirits more wicked that ourselves and our final state is worse than the first.)
Wow that sounds almost unbelieveable
Is it really true??????????
Let us look in the Bible for the answer.
Mark 5:1-16
1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gad'arenes.
2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
( this was a crazy man)
3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
(chains and Fetters are chains and leg irons.)
(have you noticed someone on drugs seem to have super human powers.)
(this man was so powerful and crazy he broke the leg irons and chains to the point the people gave up trying to bind him)
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
(this is interesting it says that he was always crying and cutting himself with stones, Lucifer and his followers want us to destroy our bodies,(our temple of God))
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
(The man knew who Jesus was)
7 and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8 For he (Jesus) said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he (Jesus) asked him, What is thy name?
And he (the man) answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand,) and were choked in the sea.
(Now if there were enough spirits in this man to possess 2 thousand swine how many were in this man)
(This goes to show us if these spirits desire a body so bad they will beg to be sent into swine, who are we to think they do not want to be in our temple of god,our body.)
14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
Often times in life we have pet sins that we want to hold onto.
They are our favorite sins.
We will clean the whole house but there is that small obscure closet in the back bedroom that we hide our junk.
How much better would we feel if we cleaned that closet.
I will show you why it is imperative that we clean that closet too.
If we looked at our life as a latter we would see that most people spend their whole life on 3 or 4 steps.
As we climb the latter of life when we get to the 4th step we are feeling so good because we have overcome that we tend to get lax on the things that caused us to climb that latter and that is when Old Scratch the Devil him self comes in.
I once heard a Preacher on the radio say
Don't let that Devil ride with you
Because the next thing you know he will be wanting to DRIVE.
The devil knows all of our pet sins and when we please God we displease the devil.
This is when he temps us with our pet sins.
If we fall then we go back down the 3 steps we just climbed and have to start all over rebuilding our life then we go up 3 steps and back down never realizing what we are missing if we could just overcome and go to the TOP of the Latter.
I have shared alot of opinion now I would like to demonstrate it in Scripture.
In life especially as teenagers we decide to sow our wild oats and pray for a crop failure.
Do you realize before we came to this earth there was a great war in heaven.
This great battle pitted God the Father, Jesus Christ, YOU and Everyone on earth against the Devil and every one who chose to follow him.
Everyone on earth chose to follow Jesus Christ, We know this because they are here.
This battle was caused because God had 2 Nobel sons
Jesus and Lucifer
Jesus as we know wanted to give us the opportunity to make choices and be free to choose our destiny.
As we know Lucifer had another plan he wanted wanted to force everyone to be righteous and not a soul would be lost.
When this Great War in Heaven ended 1/3 of the Host of Heaven was cast out and will never have the opportunity to gain a Physical body.
Now as a consequence of this these Spirits whom followed Lucifer are angry and jealous of the body each person on earth possesses.
Revelations 9:21
Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
I am sure we understand what Fornication and Theft are but do we understand the word sorceries??
Sorceries has been translated from Greek to mean pharmakeion/pharmakeia
is pharmakon, which literally refers to "drugs."
The Greek word pharmakeia, literally refers to the 'use of drugs', or to 'poisoning', or to 'druggery (drug dealing).
My Dear Brothers and Sisters who read this post.
I hope you understand a drug from your doctor if abused can be just as spiritually physically detrimental as any drug from the street.
The use of Illegal drugs or abuse of prescription drugs control your mind.
The mind controls the body
The body houses the Spirit and Thus
Lucifer has captured one Beautiful Child of God Intact to use at his disposal.
Be wise and recognize that the fruits of the spirit are
Love
Joy
Gentleness
Kindness
Meekness
Patience
Peace
None of these fruits can be found when we are in the act of abusing our body mind or spirit.
I pray that now that we can see the root cause we may be better able to recognize why we have the consequences we face after we return back to our favorite sins.
This life is a time to prepare to meet God Let us recognize the traps of Satan and avoid them as if our life depended on it.
In truth it does
It affects our ETERNAL LIFE.
I know I have.
Have you realized it and repented only to find yourself falling back into the same habit and find yourself fighting to over come that same habit.
Did you notice each time return back to a habit and try to stop, it is much harder the 2nd go around?
Why is that?
in St Luke 11:23-26 and Matthew 12: 43-45
the answer is written
23 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,
(when someone repents)
he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none,
(It seems like the craving for the sin is overwhelming)
he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
(I will return back to the sin)
25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
(when you go back to a sin you are no longer trying to overcome it so every thing seem great at the time)
26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. (This last verse is the reason it is so hard for us to overcome sin the 2nd go around. when we realize we have done something wrong have repented and return to the sin we literally take upon us 7 or more spirits more wicked that ourselves and our final state is worse than the first.)
Wow that sounds almost unbelieveable
Is it really true??????????
Let us look in the Bible for the answer.
Mark 5:1-16
1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gad'arenes.
2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
( this was a crazy man)
3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
(chains and Fetters are chains and leg irons.)
(have you noticed someone on drugs seem to have super human powers.)
(this man was so powerful and crazy he broke the leg irons and chains to the point the people gave up trying to bind him)
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
(this is interesting it says that he was always crying and cutting himself with stones, Lucifer and his followers want us to destroy our bodies,(our temple of God))
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
(The man knew who Jesus was)
7 and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8 For he (Jesus) said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he (Jesus) asked him, What is thy name?
And he (the man) answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand,) and were choked in the sea.
(Now if there were enough spirits in this man to possess 2 thousand swine how many were in this man)
(This goes to show us if these spirits desire a body so bad they will beg to be sent into swine, who are we to think they do not want to be in our temple of god,our body.)
14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
Often times in life we have pet sins that we want to hold onto.
They are our favorite sins.
We will clean the whole house but there is that small obscure closet in the back bedroom that we hide our junk.
How much better would we feel if we cleaned that closet.
I will show you why it is imperative that we clean that closet too.
If we looked at our life as a latter we would see that most people spend their whole life on 3 or 4 steps.
As we climb the latter of life when we get to the 4th step we are feeling so good because we have overcome that we tend to get lax on the things that caused us to climb that latter and that is when Old Scratch the Devil him self comes in.
I once heard a Preacher on the radio say
Don't let that Devil ride with you
Because the next thing you know he will be wanting to DRIVE.
The devil knows all of our pet sins and when we please God we displease the devil.
This is when he temps us with our pet sins.
If we fall then we go back down the 3 steps we just climbed and have to start all over rebuilding our life then we go up 3 steps and back down never realizing what we are missing if we could just overcome and go to the TOP of the Latter.
I have shared alot of opinion now I would like to demonstrate it in Scripture.
In life especially as teenagers we decide to sow our wild oats and pray for a crop failure.
Do you realize before we came to this earth there was a great war in heaven.
This great battle pitted God the Father, Jesus Christ, YOU and Everyone on earth against the Devil and every one who chose to follow him.
Everyone on earth chose to follow Jesus Christ, We know this because they are here.
This battle was caused because God had 2 Nobel sons
Jesus and Lucifer
Jesus as we know wanted to give us the opportunity to make choices and be free to choose our destiny.
As we know Lucifer had another plan he wanted wanted to force everyone to be righteous and not a soul would be lost.
When this Great War in Heaven ended 1/3 of the Host of Heaven was cast out and will never have the opportunity to gain a Physical body.
Now as a consequence of this these Spirits whom followed Lucifer are angry and jealous of the body each person on earth possesses.
Revelations 9:21
Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
I am sure we understand what Fornication and Theft are but do we understand the word sorceries??
Sorceries has been translated from Greek to mean pharmakeion/pharmakeia
is pharmakon, which literally refers to "drugs."
The Greek word pharmakeia, literally refers to the 'use of drugs', or to 'poisoning', or to 'druggery (drug dealing).
My Dear Brothers and Sisters who read this post.
I hope you understand a drug from your doctor if abused can be just as spiritually physically detrimental as any drug from the street.
The use of Illegal drugs or abuse of prescription drugs control your mind.
The mind controls the body
The body houses the Spirit and Thus
Lucifer has captured one Beautiful Child of God Intact to use at his disposal.
Be wise and recognize that the fruits of the spirit are
Love
Joy
Gentleness
Kindness
Meekness
Patience
Peace
None of these fruits can be found when we are in the act of abusing our body mind or spirit.
I pray that now that we can see the root cause we may be better able to recognize why we have the consequences we face after we return back to our favorite sins.
This life is a time to prepare to meet God Let us recognize the traps of Satan and avoid them as if our life depended on it.
In truth it does
It affects our ETERNAL LIFE.
When You Choose to Follow Christ You Choose To Be Changed
There are many times in this life Our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ bless Us and we do not even realize it.
I will share with you a popular poem that illustrates my point.
Try inserting your name as you read.
(Foot Prints)
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
When You are down and out and trials are upon you
ask yourself a question.
Is this happening because bad things happen to good people??????
Or
Is the Lord trying to tell me something.
Then get on your knees, search, Fast and pray, repent and I promise you will
find your answer.
I do not believe there has ever been a Person who walked into their Pastors/Bishops office and said
I am paying my tithing, attending my meetings, serving in church, reading my scriptures, attending the temple, doing all that I can do to draw near to the Lord and my life is falling apart.
If you CHOOSE TO DRAW NEAR TO THE LORD HE WILL DRAW NEAR UNTO YOU.
When we stray away from the principals we have covenanted to and the values we know are right we become vulnerable because the Lords hands are tied he is bound by the laws of the Universe and God to withdraw his spirit and blessings from you for a season.
But on the other hand
If you are doing all that you can do, YOU WILL STILL FALL SHORT but
That is the reason Christ died on the Cross for You and I to pick up where you fall short.
If you are doing all that you can do
GOD the Father and His son JESUS CHRIST are bound by the laws of the Universe to bless you.
I will share with you a popular poem that illustrates my point.
Try inserting your name as you read.
(Foot Prints)
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
When You are down and out and trials are upon you
ask yourself a question.
Is this happening because bad things happen to good people??????
Or
Is the Lord trying to tell me something.
Then get on your knees, search, Fast and pray, repent and I promise you will
find your answer.
I do not believe there has ever been a Person who walked into their Pastors/Bishops office and said
I am paying my tithing, attending my meetings, serving in church, reading my scriptures, attending the temple, doing all that I can do to draw near to the Lord and my life is falling apart.
If you CHOOSE TO DRAW NEAR TO THE LORD HE WILL DRAW NEAR UNTO YOU.
When we stray away from the principals we have covenanted to and the values we know are right we become vulnerable because the Lords hands are tied he is bound by the laws of the Universe and God to withdraw his spirit and blessings from you for a season.
But on the other hand
If you are doing all that you can do, YOU WILL STILL FALL SHORT but
That is the reason Christ died on the Cross for You and I to pick up where you fall short.
If you are doing all that you can do
GOD the Father and His son JESUS CHRIST are bound by the laws of the Universe to bless you.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
How to put on the Whole Armor of God
HOW TO PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
President N. Eldon Tanner Stated
“those who are clothed in such armor, which means keeping all the commandments of God, are able to withstand the adversary.”
Daily Spiritual Renewal
Lucile Johnson of Orem Utah now in her 80s, learned early in life to don her spiritual “armor” at the beginning of each day.
She remembers “arising early in the morning, before my husband and children were up.
I found that kneeling in the stillness of my living room, I could begin pleading with our Father for my needs for that day.
This brought me great peace,
I learned that He was my helper and protector.
Then I would open my scriptures and partake of their inspiration and guidance.
1. SCHEDULE
Schedule a time to search the scriptures daily.
Our spirits should never be deprived of the much-needed spiritual nourishment which comes from scripture study.
Without this spiritual food our spirits become starved and weakened to temptation.
President Kimball taught the principle that “no father, no son, no mother, no daughter should get so busy that he or she does not have time to study the scriptures and the words of modern prophets.” (Ensign, May 1976, p. 47.)
2. PRAY
We should begin and end each study session with prayer. We must invite the Spirit to teach us.
Nephi taught that: “the mysteries of God shall be unfolded … by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
(1 Ne. 10:19.)
3. SEARCH
To search is to seek,
to explore,
to examine carefully.
As we study we should do so with purpose,
searching for specifics
We must search for principles, doctrines, for answers to questions, and solutions to problems.
4.PONDER
To ponder is to meditate,
to think,
to feast,
to treasure.
It is a mental method,
it is a spiritual striving to obtain and to understand truth.
We should follow the process taught by the Savior to the Nephites
He then instructed them to “Go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said,
and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow.” (3 Ne. 17:3.)
We should ponder the meanings of the things we learn from our search of the scriptures.
The Apostle Paul instructed the Philippian Saints to “think on these things.” (Philip. 4:8.)
To think involves forming mental images in the mind and focusing intently upon that which has been discovered.
Nephi counseled to “feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Ne. 32:3.)
To feast is to consume,
to digest,
to absorb.
As we ponder, we should follow the counsel of the Savior when he said,
“Treasure up in your minds continually the words of life.” (D&C 84:85).
This implies that we should repeat in our minds the principles we have learned and draw upon them in each of our decisions.
5. RELATE
Nephi has counseled to
“liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.” (1 Ne. 19:23.)
We must read as if the Lord were speaking directly to us in a personal manner.
6.APPLY
President Marion G. Romney counseled:
“Learning the gospel from the written word …
is not enough.
It must also be lived. …
One cannot fully learn the gospel without living it.” (Ensign, Sept. 1980, p. 4.)
As we learn a principle, we must make a real effort to apply and to live it in our life.
President N. Eldon Tanner Stated
“those who are clothed in such armor, which means keeping all the commandments of God, are able to withstand the adversary.”
Daily Spiritual Renewal
Lucile Johnson of Orem Utah now in her 80s, learned early in life to don her spiritual “armor” at the beginning of each day.
She remembers “arising early in the morning, before my husband and children were up.
I found that kneeling in the stillness of my living room, I could begin pleading with our Father for my needs for that day.
This brought me great peace,
I learned that He was my helper and protector.
Then I would open my scriptures and partake of their inspiration and guidance.
1. SCHEDULE
Schedule a time to search the scriptures daily.
Our spirits should never be deprived of the much-needed spiritual nourishment which comes from scripture study.
Without this spiritual food our spirits become starved and weakened to temptation.
President Kimball taught the principle that “no father, no son, no mother, no daughter should get so busy that he or she does not have time to study the scriptures and the words of modern prophets.” (Ensign, May 1976, p. 47.)
2. PRAY
We should begin and end each study session with prayer. We must invite the Spirit to teach us.
Nephi taught that: “the mysteries of God shall be unfolded … by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
(1 Ne. 10:19.)
3. SEARCH
To search is to seek,
to explore,
to examine carefully.
As we study we should do so with purpose,
searching for specifics
We must search for principles, doctrines, for answers to questions, and solutions to problems.
4.PONDER
To ponder is to meditate,
to think,
to feast,
to treasure.
It is a mental method,
it is a spiritual striving to obtain and to understand truth.
We should follow the process taught by the Savior to the Nephites
He then instructed them to “Go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said,
and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow.” (3 Ne. 17:3.)
We should ponder the meanings of the things we learn from our search of the scriptures.
The Apostle Paul instructed the Philippian Saints to “think on these things.” (Philip. 4:8.)
To think involves forming mental images in the mind and focusing intently upon that which has been discovered.
Nephi counseled to “feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Ne. 32:3.)
To feast is to consume,
to digest,
to absorb.
As we ponder, we should follow the counsel of the Savior when he said,
“Treasure up in your minds continually the words of life.” (D&C 84:85).
This implies that we should repeat in our minds the principles we have learned and draw upon them in each of our decisions.
5. RELATE
Nephi has counseled to
“liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.” (1 Ne. 19:23.)
We must read as if the Lord were speaking directly to us in a personal manner.
6.APPLY
President Marion G. Romney counseled:
“Learning the gospel from the written word …
is not enough.
It must also be lived. …
One cannot fully learn the gospel without living it.” (Ensign, Sept. 1980, p. 4.)
As we learn a principle, we must make a real effort to apply and to live it in our life.
It is time to give our selves to the Master
( Ensign, Nov. 1999, 94).
Sister Mary Ellen Smoot, Relief Society general presidency said
“It is time to give ourselves to the Master and allow Him to lead us into fruitful fields where we can enrich a world filled with darkness and misery,”
“Each of us, no matter who we are,
no matter where we serve,
We must arise and make the most of each opportunity that comes.
We must follow the counsel given by the Lord and His servants and make our homes houses of prayer and havens of security and safety.
We can and must deepen our faith by increasing our obedience and sacrifice.
Sister Mary Ellen Smoot, Relief Society general presidency said
“It is time to give ourselves to the Master and allow Him to lead us into fruitful fields where we can enrich a world filled with darkness and misery,”
“Each of us, no matter who we are,
no matter where we serve,
We must arise and make the most of each opportunity that comes.
We must follow the counsel given by the Lord and His servants and make our homes houses of prayer and havens of security and safety.
We can and must deepen our faith by increasing our obedience and sacrifice.
Bear Your Testimony to Your Children
Elder Joseph M. Tanner, Conference Report, April 1905, p.82
"Bear your testimony to your children,
let them know what you know,
let them feel what you feel,
let them enjoy the assurances that you have
let them know that this work is the work of God,
that we have a special calling
that we are to do a particular work,
that whatever else we may be doing the Lord has something for us to do;
that is distinctly our mission
and when our young people can feel that they are thus called,
that they are the salt of the earth,
then they will realize more than ever the importance of their religion."—
"Bear your testimony to your children,
let them know what you know,
let them feel what you feel,
let them enjoy the assurances that you have
let them know that this work is the work of God,
that we have a special calling
that we are to do a particular work,
that whatever else we may be doing the Lord has something for us to do;
that is distinctly our mission
and when our young people can feel that they are thus called,
that they are the salt of the earth,
then they will realize more than ever the importance of their religion."—
Monday, August 4, 2008
LOVE VS HATE
Many times the love that we have for someone can turn to hate
So what is love and what is hate?
When I looked up hate here is what I found
Hate 1 a: intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury.
The definition was short because hate is such a short subject.
But when I looked up love
WOW it was awesome
I will share some of the definitions.
strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as
(1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind
(2): brotherly concern for others
b: a person's adoration of God
Love knows no bounds when it is reciprocated but without trust this love begins to loose its savor.
So what is Savor - a distinctive quality
So what is Quality – something with peculiar and essential character
WoW we keep being brought back to Character.
Once again our personality can open many doors but our Character KEEPS them open.
WHAT IS AN ENEMY
So What is an Enemy –
1: one that is antagonistic to another; especially : one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent2: something harmful or deadly
An enemy is someone who seeks to harm you in any way.
Physical, Financial, Spiritual, or Emotional.
IS IT BETTER FOR SOMEONE TO LOVE YOU OR TRUST YOU??
I would submit to you that I would rather have someone trust me and in second place love me.
This may sound perplexing but I will explain.
A mother can love the most lowdown sorry sack of bones for a son or daughter but that does not mean she trust him or her.
It is far better to have someone’s trust than to have his or her love.
If someone trust you, trust me, they already love you, it is only natural.
So what does trust mean - assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something b: one in which confidence is placed
What sticks out to me in this definition is the word character.
6: moral excellence and firmness character
That seems to be the tone of our society today.
God gives us his trust unconditionally and it is up to us to keep that trust.
First we have to realize that what we have done is wrong.
Now that may come by many different avenues.
We could have made a mistake and caught our self
Now there are times in extreme cases the trust you once had can never be earned back.
These are known as deal breakers.
Now when I looked up deliberate this is what it said
to think about or discuss issues and decisions carefully.
During these times someone whom you thought was a friend becomes an enemy.
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