Trials & testing of life

Elder Richard G. Scott is quoted tonight. In looking for his quotes, I found one that I needed to have repeated again.

Nick is obsessing over a car. It seems like it is the only thing our lives have revolved around since he started obsessing. Not only that, the foreclosure is still hanging over our heads. But Elder Scott says:

"Sadness, disappointment, and severe challenge are events in life, not life itself. I do not minimize how hard some of these events are. They can extend over a long period of time, but they should not be allowed to become the confining center of everything you do. …"

Events in life.  Men are that they might have joy … okay. That must take a talent I don't have. To see them as EVENTS in life, not life itself.

"Strong moral character results from consistent correct choices in the trials and testing of life. Your faith can guide you to those correct choices."

--Elder Richard G. Scott, Ensign, May 2003, 77

Now he's counseling to not only have faith, but use it to guide you to those correct choices. 

Kindness is the essence

of greatness says Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.

"Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known. Kindness is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes."

--Joseph B. Wirthlin, "The Virtue of Kindness", Liahona, May 2005, 26–28

Sadness, disappointment, and severe challenge are events in life, not life itself, says Elder Richard G. Scott here. Kindness can certainly help with those challenges.

Faith & obedience

As I was searching for the quotes tonight, I found a quote about how thoughts mold our features here by President David O. McKay. It reminded me of a workshop I went to last year at the Hospice Conference at FCMC. Tracie Jensen was telling about singing in the choir at church without her contacts in. She saw a woman in the congregation & she looked like a witch. She kept looking at this woman, but without her contacts she didn't recognize her. She made a special note of her dress & hair color so she could get close to her after Sacrament Meeting. When she did find her, she said her face was dragged down into a frown & she wore bright red lipstick. She did look like a witch. You almost have to hear Tracie tell this story.

Now, to get back on subject, both the quotes tonight talk about faith

"I am convinced that there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow you to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit. Our Father expects you to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ. Were you to receive inspired guidance just for the asking, you would become weak and ever more dependent on them. They know that essential personal growth will come as you struggle to learn how to be led by the Spirit."

--Richard G. Scott, "To Acquire Spiritual Guidance", Ensign, Nov 2009, 6–9

Isn't that what life is? A struggle. Sometimes I catch myself with a frown. I have to literally unclench my jaws or purposely smile to relax the muscles in my face.

"To do well does not mean everything will always turn out well. The key is to remember that faith and obedience are still the answers, even when things go wrong, perhaps especially when things go wrong."

--David E. Sorensen, "Faith Is the Answer," Ensign, May 2005, 72

Teaching in the home

President Uchtdorf tells us enduring to the end is a never ending process here.

The other quote is from April 2010

"The vital importance of teaching truth in the home is fundamental. The Church is important, but it is in the home where parents provide the required understanding and direction for children. It is truly said that the most important callings in time and eternity are those of father and mother. In time we will be released from all other assignments we receive but not from that of father and mother."

--Elder Richard G. Scott, "He Lives! All Glory to His Name!", April 2010 General Conference

The power of correct principles

I thought of this familiar quote from Joseph Smith, "I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves."

"Well-taught doctrines and principles have a more powerful influence on behavior than rules."

--Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, Nov. 1999, 79

And yes, onward ever onward

"The path to eternal life is not on a plateau. Rather, it is an incline, ever onward and upward. Hence, ever-increasing spiritual understanding and energy are required to reach our destination. Because the pernicious opposition by Satan continues, the continuous enlightened guidance of the Holy Ghost is absolutely essential."

--Elder Keith K. Hilbig, "Quench Not the Spirit Which Quickens the Inner Man", October 2007 General Conference

I went searching for Joseph Smith's quote & found this in Elder Richard G. Scott's talk, The Power of Correct Principles.

Joseph Smith’s inspired statement, “I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves,” still applies. (Quoted by John Taylor, in Millennial Star, 15 Nov. 1851, p. 339.) The Lord uses that pattern with us. 

- Elder Richard G. Scott, "The Power of Correct Principles", Ensign, May 1993, 32

Someday ...

I could easily have named this entry "Scarlett O'Hara Syndrome," but I didn't

"There is a danger in the word someday when what it means is “not this day.”...The scriptures make the danger of delay clear. It is that we may discover that we have run out of time. The God who gives us each day as a treasure will require an accounting. We will weep, and He will weep, if we have intended to repent and to serve Him in tomorrows which never came or have dreamt of yesterdays where the opportunity to act was past. This day is a precious gift of God. The thought “Someday I will” can be a thief of the opportunities of time and the blessings of eternity."

--Henry B. Eyring, "This Day", Ensign, May 2007, 89–91

If we delay or procrastinate, we get what we get, not what we necessarily wanted.

"The axiom 'You get what you pay for' is true for spiritual rewards as well. You get what you pay for in obedience, in faith in Jesus Christ, in diligent application of the truths that you learn."

--Richard G. Scott, "The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing", Ensign, May 2003, 75

Do it now.

Thoughts mold your features

The internet is SOOOOO slow tonight, I almost forgot what I was doing. The subject line is the first line of the following quote & is very thought provoking ...

"Thoughts mold your features. Thoughts lift your soul heavenward or drag you toward hell. … As nothing reveals character like the company we like and keep, so nothing foretells futurity like the thoughts over which we brood. … To have the approval of your conscience when you are alone with your thoughts is like being in the company of true and loving friends. To merit your own self-respect gives strength to character. Conscience is the link that binds your soul to the spirit of God."

--David O. McKay,, "Developing Character", Ensign, Oct. 2001, 22

I did a double take when I was searching the blog to see if either of these quotes had been used. President David O. McKay served from 1951 to 1970, yet the quote is found in the Ensign of October 2001!!

This next quote is the second quote from this particular article, which would have been a conference talk in April's General Conference. It would be interesting to read the entire article.

"A pebble held close to the eye appears to be a gigantic obstacle. Cast on the ground, it is seen in perspective. Likewise, problems or trials in our lives need to be viewed in the perspective of scriptural doctrine. Otherwise they can easily overtake our vision, absorb our energy, and deprive us of the joy and beauty the Lord intends us to receive here on earth."

--Richard G. Scott, "Finding Joy in Life", Ensign May 1996

Life events

I'm trying to catch up on my Old Testament reading & so, I requested 2 reading assignments today.

"Closely related to our own obligation to repent is the generosity of letting others do the same...In this we participate in the very essence of the Atonement of Jesus Christ...We don't want God to remember our sins, so there is something fundamentally wrong in our relentlessly trying to remember others' sins...It is one of those ironies of godhood that in order to find peace, the offended as well as the offender must engage the principle of forgiveness."

--Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Peaceable Things of the Kingdom", Ensign, Nov. 1996, 82

They were LOONNG quotes today:

"Sadness, disappointment, and severe challenge are events in life, not life itself. I do not minimize how hard some of these events are. They can extend over a long period of time, but they should not be allowed to become the confining center of everything you do. The Lord inspired Lehi to declare the fundamental truth, "Men are, that they might have joy." That is a conditional statement: "they might have joy." It is not conditional for the Lord. His intent is that each of us finds joy. It will not be conditional for you as you obey the commandments, have faith in the Master, and do the things that are necessary to have joy here on earth."

--Richard G. Scott, "Finding Joy in Life", Ensign, May 1996, 24

I only saved one quote from the first request. This one:

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven"

--Orson F. Whitney, in Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, 98