Follow the Savior

Tonight's thoughts are worthy of pondering.

"I testify to you this day that the time will come when every man, woman, and child will look into the Savior's loving eyes. On that day, we will know with a surety the worth of our decision to straightway follow Him."

--Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Follow Me", Ensign, May 2002 p. 17

And

"Life offers you two precious gifts — one is time, the other freedom of choice, the freedom to buy with your time what you will. You are free to exchange your allotment of time for thrills. You may trade it for base desires. You may invest it in greed … . Yours is the freedom to choose. But these are no bargains, for in them you find no lasting satisfaction."

--Elder D. Todd Christofferson, "Reflections on a Consecrated Life", October 2010 General Conference

If we choose to follow the Savior, we will choose the right, choose to follow His commandments.

Willlingness & ability

One of my favorite scriptures is where Nephi says in 1 Nephi 2:7 "I will go & do the things which the Lord hath commanded, …" President James E. Faust says,

"It is important that you have oil in your lamps so that when you say to the Lord, "Here am I; send me," you are prepared and qualified to be sent. We are all heaven sent, but what we are able to accomplish in the Lord's work depends to a large extent on our willingness and ability."

--James E. Faust, "You Are All Heaven Sent", Ensign, Nov. 2002, 110

 President Faust says in another conference address,

"We must keep our faith simple and our worship pure. Religion is more than a ritual; it is righteousness."

--President James E. Faust, Ensign, May 1999, 18

Religion is more than a ritual sounds nice, but just as the Pharisees and Sadducees, powerful & rival sects during the time between the Old & New Testament, had their rituals; so does the latter day church. White shirts & ties must be worn to officiate in the Sacrament; flip flops & denim cannot be worn in the church. Women MUST wear dresses or skirts.

Willingly follow Christ

Today's quotes seem to center on families, parenting. It reminded me of an entry from my cousin Loraine's blog as she recounted her busy January, a new grandchild, her mother's cancer surgery, her in-laws' health problems & taking them to a grandson's mission farewell.

But the season of my life is to take care of family members. All this other will get done in its own due time.

President's Faust quote fits so perfectly:

"No matter what circumstances you sisters experience, your influence can be marvelously far-reaching. I believe some of you have a tendency to underestimate your profound capacity for blessing the lives of others. More often than not, it is not on the stage with some public pronouncement but in your example of righteousness and the countless gentle acts of love and kindness done so willingly, so often on a one-to-one basis."

--James E. Faust, "You Are All Heaven Sent," Ensign, Nov. 2002, 110

"… countless gentle acts of love and kindness …" shows she is willingly following Christ as President Kimball exhorts us.

"Follow me," the Savior said. And we realize that to follow him is not impossible. The miles which he traveled, each of us can travel, for he took them one step at a time, one journey at a time. You could walk from Jerusalem to Nazareth. You could walk to the Sea of Galilee from Nazareth. You could follow Joseph and Mary and Jesus to Egypt. You could walk to the Mount of Transfiguration and back and forth from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, Bethany, the River Jordan. All these, you could do. But this is not the kind of following that he expected. He meant for us to follow his teachings and his example. Anyone with normal health can walk those miles and climb those hills and ford those streams. But it is quite another thing to be "even as I am," (3 Ne. 27:27) as he said to the Nephites."

--Spencer W. Kimball, "A Gift of Gratitude", Tambuli, Dec 1977, 1

One of last night's quotes is a repeat from Bishop H. Burke Peterson quoting President McKay & speaking of mothers here.

"As parenting declines, the need for policing increases. There will always be a shortage of police if there is a shortage of effective parents! Likewise, there will not be enough prisons if there are not enough good homes."

--Neal A. Maxwell, "Take Especial Care of Your Family," Ensign, May 1994, 88

The heartbreak of parents as their children end up in jail, wondering, "Where did I go wrong?" We have been sheltered in Cache Valley. It has been so idyllic with the rural values of the LDS community, yet the world infiltrates us even here. As Dumbledore said:

"It takes much bravery to stand up to our enemies but we need as much bravery to stand up to our friends."

— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)  

Enduring to the end

Last night I waited until after midnight to do my scripture reading & remember, the internet turns into a pumpkin at midnight, so I just copied last night's quotes into a Notepad document & thought I'd make an entry tonight. Gotta hurry, only have 8 minutes left.

Tonight's More Reading quote is the same as last night's Complete Reading! So, I checked to make sure it hadn't been repeated before & it hasn't.

"I know that God loves us. He allows us to exercise our moral agency even when we misuse it. He permits us to make our own decisions. Christ cannot help us if we do not trust Him; He cannot teach us if we do not serve Him. He will not force us to do what's right, but He will show us the way only when we decide to serve Him. Certainly, for us to serve in His kingdom, Christ requires that we experience a change of thought and attitude."

--Thomas S. Monson, "Looking Back and Moving Forward", Ensign, May 2008, 87–90

Last night's quote from President Uchtdorf was taken from Have We Not Reason to Rejoice? An earlier quote was taken from the same talk.

"Enduring to the end, or remaining faithful to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout our life, is a fundamental requirement for salvation in the kingdom of God … Therefore, enduring to the end is not just a matter of passively tolerating life's difficult circumstances or "hanging in there." Ours is an active religion, helping God's children along the strait and narrow path to develop their full potential during this life and return to Him one day... Enduring to the end is a process filling every minute of our life, every hour, every day, from sunrise to sunrise. It is accomplished through personal discipline following the commandments of God."

--Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Have We Not Reason to Rejoice?", Ensign, Nov 2007, 18–21

And the final quote is by President Faust,

"Almost every day brings opportunities to perform unselfish acts for others. Such acts are unlimited and can be as simple as a kind word, a helping hand, or a gracious smile."

--President James E. Faust, Ensign, Nov. 2002, 21-22

And sometimes that gracious smile is hard to scrape up.

Truly understood

Tonight as I searched the blog for these thoughts, I kept repeating, "Truly understood and properly practiced ..." That was all the further I read so I really didn't know what needed to be truly understood & properly practiced. I thought it might be prayer. I was surprised when I went back to the quote to find it is faith! I have never thought of faith as something that has to be practiced!

"Truly understood and properly practiced, faith is one of the grand and glorious powers of eternity. It is a force powerful beyond our comprehension. "Through faith … the worlds were framed by the word of God." Through faith, waters are parted, the sick healed, the wicked silenced, and salvation made possible. Our faith is the foundation upon which all our spiritual lives rest. It should be the most important resource of our lives. Faith is not so much something we believe; faith is something we live."

--Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Shall He Find Faith on the Earth?", Ensign November 2002, 82

Faith should be the most important resource of our lives.

"None of us makes it through this life without problems and challenges — and sometimes tragedies and misfortunes. After all, in large part we are here to learn and grow from such events in our lives. We know that there are times when we will suffer, when we will grieve, and when we will be saddened. However, we are told, 'Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.' How might we have joy in our lives, despite all that we may face? Again from the scriptures: 'Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.' "

--President Thomas S. Monson, "Be of Good Cheer", April 2009 General Conference

Walk in faith

The quote from Elder Lynn G. Robbins' talk, Tithing, A Commandment Even for the Destitute was given again. And

"Those who walk in faith will feel their lives encompassed with the light and blessings of heaven. They will understand and know things that others cannot."

--Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Ensign, Nov. 2002, 84

Past & present

This first quote is going to have several "labels."

"In 1844 Josiah Quincy (a non-member), a respected mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, traveled to Nauvoo, Illinois. He toured the city, visited with the Saints, and interviewed the Prophet Joseph Smith. Mr. Quincy later wrote a book titled Figures of the Past and included a chapter on the Prophet with this prediction: "It is by no means improbable that some future text-book for the use of generations yet unborn will contain a question something like this: 'What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen?' And it is by no means impossible that the answer to the interrogatory may be thus written: 'Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet.'"

--John Henry Evans, Joseph Smith: An American Prophet (1946), 3-4. Quoted by Tad R. Callister, "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration," Ensign, June 2002, 62

and next ...

"As we move toward the future, we must not neglect the lessons of the past. Our Heavenly Father gave His Son. The Son of God gave His life. We are asked by Them to give our lives, as it were, in Their divine service. Will you? Will I? Will we? There are lessons to be taught, there are kind deeds to be done, there are souls to be saved."

--Thomas S. Monson, "Becoming Our Best Selves", Ensign, Nov. 1999, 18

To be strengthened

Tonight's quotes are both good ones to ponder. The first one, talks about prayer

"No earthly authority can separate us from direct access to our Creator. There can never be a mechanical or electronic failure when we pray. There is no limit on the number of times or how long we can pray each day. There is no quota of how many needs we wish to pray for in each prayer. We do not need to go through secretaries or make an appointment to reach the throne of grace. He is reachable at any time and any place."

--James E. Faust, "The Lifeline of Prayer," Ensign, May 2002, 59

I have a hard time with this sometimes. I feel like I pray too much, then other times, I feel like, "What am I bothering the Lord for?" & don't pray enough.

The next one is a good one also,

"If you sometimes get discouraged, consider this fellow. He dropped out of grade school. Ran a country store. Went broke. Took 15 years to pay off his bills. Took a wife. Unhappy marriage. Ran for House. Lost twice. Ran for Senate. Lost twice. Delivered speech that became a classic. Audience indifferent. Attacked daily by the press and despised by half the country. Despite all this, imagine how many people all over the world have been inspired by this awkward, rumpled, brooding man who signed his name simply, A. Lincoln." (Wall Street Journal.) 'It is important to know, when you feel down, that many others do also and that their circumstances are generally much worse than yours. And it's important to know that when one of us is down, it becomes the obligation of his friends to give him a lift. I hope that each of us will cultivate a sensitivity toward the feelings of others, and when encouragement is needed, make an effort to extend it. Be a friend, and you will have a friend. God be thanked for wonderful friends.'

--Gordon B. Hinckley, "Strengthening Each Other," Ensign, Feb. 1985, 3

A better person

Guess this quote isn't here, I can't find a tag for 2002. I've taken to searching for either the author or date of the quote so I won't repeat it.

"If we live by the principles of the gospel, we must be good people, for we will be generous and kind, thoughtful and tolerant, helpful and outreaching to those in distress. We can either subdue the divine nature and hide it so that it finds no expression in our lives, or we can bring it to the front and let it shine through all that we do."

--Gordon B. Hinckley, "Each a Better Person", Ensign, Nov. 2002, 99

This thought reminds me of a book I read recently, Return From Tomorrow by George Ritchie, MD. It is about a near death experience or NDE as they are called. He relates seeing dead people & he was trying to talk to live people. He wanted to find his body.

"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike, and they will, you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed."

--Jeffrey R. Holland, "For Times of Trouble," New Era, Oct. 1980, 15