So, I'm going to start putting my most recent talks at the top. Starting with this one.
MINISTERING- 07/18/2021
MINISTERING- 07/18/2021
MIN'ISTER, n. [L.]
1. Properly, a chief servant; hence, an agent
appointed to transact or manage business under the authority of another;
2. One to whom a king or prince entrusts the
direction of affairs of state;
4. A delegate; an embassador; the
representative of a sovereign at a foreign court;
5. One who serves at the altar; one who
performs sacerdotal duties; a pastor
6. Christ is called a minister of the
sanctuary.
7. An angel; a messenger of God.
Savior, gave us 2 great commandments. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Love thy neighbor as thyself. And later with his disciples.
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
It occurred to me this morning for the first time, the context of that new commandment. It was given at the last supper after he had washed all of their feet and only hours before his suffering and death. He knew that as he descended into his atoning experience, that more than anything they would need to love each other. Likewise in our darkest moments, we need to be loved and ministered to.
Linda K Burton, 2012 First observe, Then Serve, President Monson, greatest example of ministering...We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness. … We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.
Mindy M
What comes to mind is the many different ways
people have served and ministered and how each and every way has blessed our
life. Perhaps one might get caught up in doing it the "right" way or
how everyone else is doing it, but the one thing that's stuck out to me is how
aware people have been.
A brother in my ward who lost his first wife years ago sent me a text one day after reading my post on Facebook about a picture of Christ that meant so much to me. Daniel had bought me the picture of Christ years before and when we moved I never hung it up. I mentioned in my post how the picture represented what we were going through perfectly and was excited to hang it up before he got home. A couple of days later I got a text from this brother volunteering to bring his wife, tools, level, and skills to come hang the large picture. It meant so much that he thought of that. I did end up asking him to come do that for me and he did - happily. (Side note - this brother has money and possibly could have dropped off a check, but instead offered a service that he observed. It meant the world to me.)
I’ve thought lots about the talk "First observe then Serve" by Linda K. Burton. So good.
I've also recognized that everyone is hurting in some aspect of their life and recognize that people come from a place of love. So on the receiving end of ministering I've made it a point to teach our kids to look for and recognize the love in each kind act of service given. It's been interesting hearing some of the things people have said, so it's been a good opportunity to teach the kids that people truly are coming from a place of love.
There is a sister in my ward who recognized my rose bushes were getting out of control. She just came over when I was gone and started tending to them for a couple of weeks in a row.
My neighbor remembered we had a very large cottonwood tree that was dead and needed to come down. It was a hazard and large branches had been falling. I'd been quoted an astronomical amount to have it removed. He contacted some other men in the ward and organized a mammoth sized project of taking it down. I didn't even know it was in the works until it was well into being planned.
All of these people first observed, then served.
Camillee (Friends with parents, seminary student)
As for traditional ministering...a few months
before Kade passed away, my husband as Elders Quorum President had assigned
Mark Vining to be our Ministering brother. As you can imagine, Brother Vining
was able to minister to our family in a very personal way. I do not believe
that assignment was coincidence. Sister Vining also was there right alongside
her husband even though she wasn't assigned to us. They have continued to be
there to minister to our family. We also received a vast amount of service from
our bishop, RS President, and our ward. But the Ministering we received and
continue to receive has gone far beyond what we expected.
**********
Friends providing a Christmas tree and
decorations one bleak Christmas.
Terrell rocking me and calming me after the horrifying
news.
Camille sitting with me in the dark and being
with me without speaking
An endless entourage of sisters who brought
meals, cleaned our house, took my children and watched them the multiple times
I was on bedrest with 4 different pregnancies and every other crisis with our
children.
Blessings from ward brethren with my husband
for pregnancy loss, illness, and depression.
The regular deliver of fresh salsa.
Gifted piano teacher Sister Jenna Mosley offering
more service than lessons with $5 lessons for most of our time with her. She
gave her life to music and her students and an entire community. What a
friendship developed there.
Becoming friends with elderly sisters who I
never would have sought friendships with, without being assigned and who I mourned
over when they passed.
Sitting on porches with friends and discussing
our concerns with our children and the comfort of the gospel.
Serving with other sisters in presidencies and
ministering to those we had stewardship over.
My mother in law, who was the greatest personal
example of charity I’ve ever known.
Holding and being held by others in extreme
moments of sorrow.
Not wanting to do really hard things for really
hard people and doing it anyway.
Some of the most grateful ministering we received was while Bret served as bishop of the Duncan ward. There was one brother who was my personal nemesis. He LOVED teasing me and joking with me, and I secretly did too when I didn’t want to punch him. RELIABLE. STEADY. More than a few times my husband came home with shoulders down, the burden heavy, and I had absolute confidence that this brother in our ward, OUR BROTHER, would take any call from me when my husband needed someone to do work that had to be done immediately. Bret would ask me to call, and his response was always YES, I will do it. Ward members who ministered and performed their callings faithfully were the greatest blessing to our family at that time, because with 6 children still at home, our time with him was brief, and he couldn’t do it all. Any kind words or service meant so much to us.
When we are called to His service
3 Nephi 13: 25 And now it came to pass that
when Jesus had spoken these words he looked upon the twelve whom he had chosen,
and said unto them: Remember the words which I have spoken. For behold, ye are
they whom I have chosen to minister unto this people. Therefore, I say unto
you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat,
and the body than raiment?
Bishop A
I think one of the really special blessings I
receive and notice specifically with my calling is on Sundays, with early
meetings and then helping ward family members through the day, sometimes I'll
be in the Stake Center for 8-10 hours - even had a couple 12 hour days -
without eating anything and I don't feel hungry or tired at all, until I've
finished what needs to be done. This is a regular thing
Another special experience was during the
beginning of COVID, Brother Philip Cluff made an appointment to renew his
Temple Recommend. I had some things open up for the evening a couple days
earlier and called to see if I could come by that evening - we had a wonderful
visit, probably almost an hour where we talked about his life and ranching and
scouting. During the interview he shared his very heartfelt testimony of
the Savior and the Gospel that really touched me and I looked forward to
another visit before too long, but just a few hours later he passed through the
veil, but with a current Temple Recommend that I know he held sacred.
My father was my best example of ministering
to me of anyone - it was home teaching back then - but he was dedicated and
loved his families, and they obviously loved him. I remember specifically
going with my dad to visit Dorothy Hinton - she was always grateful and
welcoming. We would visit Bill & Lucille Taylor, they were up on
their age and often needed a little help with things around their home and dad
would check on them at least weekly. I remember how they didn't want him
to leave and enjoyed his friendship. I think I learned from him how to
look at people for who they are and love and appreciate all that is good about
them. I always want to follow his example, but I feel I fall very short.
I wish I had some exciting experiences to
share, but honestly I have always been on the receiving end of amazing
ministers; Paul Smith, Joe Alder, Doug Farnsworth, Delford Bolinger, Bishop
Knight, Solon & Della Beals, and Ferrell Beals with Curtis Larson, and
several others. They made an impact on me and my family by simply showing
us love and concern and It was a huge comfort knowing they were there if we
ever needed them. I'll never forget them.
I wish I could be more help, I'm thinking the
Lord knows I'm pretty needed and he takes care of me.
Brothers and sisters, I join with you in
saluting every block teacher and ward teacher and home teacher and visiting
teacher who has loved and served so faithfully throughout our history. Our
prayer today is that every man and woman—and our older young
men and young women—will leave this general conference more
deeply committed to heartfelt care for one another, motivated only by the pure
love of Christ to do so. In spite of what we all feel are our limitations and
inadequacies—and we all have challenges—nevertheless, may we labor side by side with the Lord of the
vineyard, giving the God and Father of us all a helping hand with His
staggering task of answering prayers, providing comfort, drying tears, and
strengthening feeble knees. If we will do that, we will be more like the true
disciples of Christ we are meant to be.
It is my testimony brothers and sisters, that we are to minister as invited by our Savior, by loving God, ourselves, and our fellow man, and to take no thought for our current circumstances as we strive to minister in our official and unofficial capacities. Ask your Heavenly Father who can I minister today and how can I minister? I testify that the Spirit will inspire you as you consider the great things you have been entrusted with. Your simple acts of love and kindness make a difference. They have for me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Pima Stake RS Meeting
03/03/2017
Sacrament Meeting Talk, 02/19/2017
MERCY
LDS.org topic Mercy
Testimony. I am grateful for our loving Heavenly Father’s grace and mercy. I am grateful that THROUGH mercy, I can access the grace that He is so willing and able to extend to us. I am thankful that as in the hymn, where he says he is our friend, that he is our intimate friend because he walks with us and has suffered everything we have. I am humbled that I am able to have mercy instead of perfect justice and that all I have to do is repent, reach out for my Savior’s help and be willing to extend it to others.
September 20, 2016 in Institute Devotional
***********************************************************************
December 15, 2013 in our new ward (Pima 2nd)
03/03/2017
The Refiner’s Fire
In Isaiah, we read, Behold, I have refined thee, but not with
silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
I hope you sisters will indulge my sharing a story. A story I
lived.
Just over 30 years ago, on a Wednesday night in the Fall at BYU, I
got a phone call. The kind of call, that if you knew what was coming, you’d
ignore and never pick it up. FOREVER.
It was my Granny and she told me about a new dress she was making
for me, when an emergency phone call came in. Anyone remember emergency break
ins? My Granny knew who was breaking in and so she told me it was likely my Dad
with some bad news. And then she said, “your mother’s attorneys called me
today. They wanted us to know your mother died.” Just like that. And then I
dropped the phone.
This was the horrible, unexpected end of a new eighteen month
relationship. As a freshman at BYU, I timidly began searching for my mother,
who I had grown up without. It took a few phone calls to track her down, and
when I finally did reach her I had to verify who I was with questions I would
know.
We exchanged letters, visited over President’s Day. Later I got a
summer job in California where I was able to see her a couple of more times. We
exchanged more letters. She gave me gifts and began to hope that she had a
daughter again; and maybe someday a son. I enjoyed getting to know a younger
brother.
But the last six months, things went terribly wrong. She was
diagnosed with breast cancer. I didn’t really understand that. Nobody talked
about it back then and my grandmother was a devout Christian Scientist. The
only time I had ever been to the doctor was when I had pneumonia in second
grade. I was in the hospital for three weeks.
She shared the news and the steps she’d taken. I just did not
realize the weight of it for her. But I decided it was time to come clean and
share my relationship with my family. Bad idea. Multiple divorces, spouse
switching. The short story is, my family went nuts. My parents’ divorce was downright
mean and ugly and my extended family must have still been feeling the effects
of it over ten years later. I opened Pandora’s box. They came down on me from
all sides. They were certain her only intent was to cause trouble.
The worst part was the ultimatum from my father. End my
relationship with my mother or suffer the consequences. Meaning, no more
support at school, and if he moved, I wouldn’t know where he was.
Have you ever been hit so hard in the stomach that you lose your
breath? It felt kind of like that. I was angry, resentful, hurt beyond
belief. So I stewed. For weeks I wondered what I should do. Finally, I
wrote my mother a letter and told her what was going on. No cell phones
remember? Long distance, remember?
I was only nineteen. I had no guidance in this kind of thing. I
had no idea how it was going to turn out. She was livid. And she called my
family names. And there I was; caught between two people and my future. Which
should I choose? The budding relationship with my angry, defensive mother? Or
the safe, loving relationship with a father threatening to cut off everything
I’d ever known? Piece of cake!
At first, I was angry and wrote my dad a letter. Fine. Cut me off.
See if I care. I can take care of myself. But I was afraid. I never gave him
the letter. It’s still in my journal. So I came up with a compromise. I decided
I would tell him it was over and then I would just write her now and then. He
would never know. It was near the end of the summer and time to head back to
BYU. I should have let her know before I moved.
In the weeks that followed, getting back to BYU, moving into a new
apartment and church family, and settling back into a routine, I figured I’d
get around to it. Then September came. A miniscule whisper appeared in the back
of my head. Call your mother.
The little voice continued, and I eventually did. I left a message
on her phone, but didn’t leave my number, not thinking that she didn’t have it.
That little voice continued as a drumbeat into October, but the busyness of
school and college life drowned out the voice.
The phone hit the floor and I did too. I collapsed in a heap and
began screaming. Even now, I can still replay the seemingly super slow-mo
reaction of my roommates. Puzzled looks, advances toward me. I plead for them
to get my friend across the street to give me a blessing. I needed someone to
make this better. Nobody could ever make this better.
My roommate and best friend of many years later told me that she
could hear me screaming INSIDE of the house across the street as he and his
roommate rushed to my aid. When Terrell got in the door, he slipped underneath
me and wrapped his arms around me and began rocking until my screams subsided
into sobs and I was able to regain a portion of composure to receive a
blessing. I don’t remember what they said, I only know they brought comfort. In
the most desperate moment of my life, I was rescued by two worthy young
priesthood holders who reached out to me in a crisis.
That phone call finally came through and my Dad gave me the news I
already had. I didn’t want to talk to him and he let me go quickly. It was
difficult to get the answers, eventually from a grandmother I didn’t even know.
My mother had taken her own life.
But it was all my fault.
It wasn’t all my fault, but it sure felt like it.
In the quiet that fell over our house that night, I lay on the
couch in the living room in the dark and felt nothing. Light streaming from the
kitchen did nothing to make me feel better. My best friend, sat at my side, while
I lay there. She said nothing until I was ready to say something. And when I
finally did, she helped me know it would be all right. Some day.
Right now though, it felt like nothing would ever be all right
again. I didn’t listen. I didn’t call. We fought. She was gone. I could never
get any of it back. It was all my fault.
The next few days were a blur. Visiting with my bishop. Meeting my
family. Strangers I was supposed to know and love but didn’t. People who showed
me kindness anyway. I felt completely and totally alone. The funeral was
strange. And I found no comfort.
Then a ray of light. At the cemetery, I wanted to say good bye. I
bent over and put my head on the casket and cried. In my heart, I told her that
I loved her, something I’d never said before, and that I would miss her. And
then I stepped away from the casket.
I stood all by myself. And as I felt this wave of darkness and
misery and loneliness engulf me, I felt something else. I literally felt as if
the clouds parted, but there were no clouds. It felt as though a shaft of light
fell upon me, but there was no shaft of light. I felt embraced in the arms of
love. I felt tender mercies upon me and I felt an outpouring; an abundance of
love, that took me by surprise.
I later found out that the Sunday I missed, included my bishop
imploring my young single adult friends to pray for me. Those prayers were
answered and I learned that my Heavenly Father knew EXACTLY who I was and what
I was suffering.
He knew ME. He knew my fiery furnace. I felt Him there with me.
What did I learn? I can honestly say, that all those years ago,
I’m not even sure if I thought about the atonement or really understood what it
was. I didn’t specifically call out for it. But I testify, with everything in
me that IT WAS the atonement of Jesus Christ that helped me through those dark
days, and the year of depression and guilt and agony that followed.
I’ve reached out over the last few weeks to a group of women I am
friends with online. I’ve asked them how the atonement has affected them. As
stories of the most devastating kind have come into my inbox, I’ve been
humbled. Rape, cancer and other health crises, poverty, infidelity, husbands
with porn issues they refuse to give up, infertility, divorce, marriages that
were more a jail or torture than a marriage, abuse, lost children—stories that
are heartbreaking. But each one, testifying that the atonement of Jesus Christ
is REAL. It’s REAL sisters.
I invite you to consider two questions that came to me as I began
preparing a few weeks ago. 1-What KEEPS me from accessing the atonement? 2-What
HELPS me access the atonement? I hope you will ponder those questions over and
over and take them to the Lord. He will tell you EXACTLY what is keeping YOU or
helping you access the atonement.
Nephi tells us in 2 Nephi 2, that there MUST be opposition in ALL
things. He goes on to say that without opposition,
“Wherefore,
this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and
also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God.”
So, without opposition, or suffering, or affliction, the wisdom,
purpose, POWER, mercy and justice of God is destroyed. I wish we could talk
more about that. Think about that. If you haven’t already, I recommend reading
the Infinite Atonement by Elder Tad R Callister.
Joseph
Smith said, “You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite
as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God. .
. . God will feel after you, and he will take hold of you and wrench your very
heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an
inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God.”
Sisters, our heart wrenching experiences are for our
sanctification and consecration. I am confident that the majority of women in
this room could come up and tell us of individual suffering that would have us
all holding each other and weeping. Those same sisters would also stand and
testify of the goodness and strength of a loving Heavenly Father and the mercy
of His Son Jesus Christ to us. Why is that? How is that? We can turn to Jesus
Christ as He beckons us, or we can suffer alone. He’s the ONLY ONE who
understands completely.
I came up with 2 answers to question 1. These are my answers. Not
understanding my relationship with my Heavenly Father. And unbelief.
What is the first great commandment? Anyone?
Love God with ALL, heart, soul, strength, mind. The scriptures
tell us NOTHING can separate us from the love of God, and He wants us to return
that love back to Him. That may be half the problem right there. Do we really
love Him so much with ALL that we have and are that we trust Him rather than
doubt Him? Do we accept the things we cannot change rather than worry, wring
our hands, and whine about our lot to anyone who will listen?
What’s the second?
Love thy neighbor as THYSELF. What do we know about these 2
commandments and the rest of the law and prophets?
It all hangs on these two. L-O-V-E. Every single commandment is
about love.
“We are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us and we love
Him.” But do we believe it? Do we understand the protection in it? Because if
WE don’t, satan does. He knows that if we can doubt ourselves and the love of
our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, HALF the battle is won.
Then it’s a matter of telling us lies on the one hand to get us to
sin. “Nobody will know. You aren’t important anyway. No one loves you. You
should just give up.” And telling us lies on the other hand to keep us in
misery. “Everyone will know, everyone will judge you. You’ve sinned too much.
You can’t repent.” He weaves a web of lies, and we fall for it!
I’m a believer that we have the power to CREATE our lives. One of
the ways we can do that is through affirmations. If
words created the world and they did, and testimony won the war in heaven and
it did, words are very powerful. Does everyone know what affirmations
are? Let me repeat, “we are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us.” Or
how about this?
“We are beloved spirit daughters of God, and our lives have
meaning, purpose, and direction. As a worldwide sisterhood, we are united in
our devotion to Jesus
Christ, our Savior and Exemplar. We are
women of faith, virtue, vision…”
If you rewrite it in first person and
say it every day, it sounds something like this. “I am a beloved daughter of
God and my life has meaning, purpose, and direction. I am devoted to Jesus
Christ, my Savior and Exemplar. I am a woman of faith, virtue, and vision.” Years ago,
I studied the YW Theme and the RS Declaration and my patriarchal blessing, and
created my own Personal Proclamation. I encourage you to do the same. I promise
you, if you look yourself in the eyes in the mirror every day and say these
kinds of things. You’ll believe it. Eventually, you will believe it. Then you
will become it. If you need help, call or email me, I’ll help you do it.
For the sake of time, I’ll skip
unbelief and share what’s on my list of things that HELP me access the
atonement.
Gratitude, humility, trust,
sacrifice, covenants. I’ll just touch on two.
The word gratitude is not found in
the scriptures. It’s found there as thanksgiving. The Psalms are filled with
thanksgiving. Giving thanks was an important part of the law of sacrifice. I
find that interesting. It was a prayer or offering after confession conveying
gratitude for forgiveness. In section 59 of the D and C, after God tells us all
the things of the earth that he has given us to use and rejoice, he says:
21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is
his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey
not his commandments.
There’s that word ALL again. I’ve
been practicing gratitude regularly for over ten years. As Cicero and Pres
Uchtdorf have both said, gratitude is the parent of all other virtues. I testify
that it is true. Practicing a grateful heart in ALL things, makes it easier for
us to conquer other failings with the help of the atonement. It might be a bit
of an extreme example, but in one very conscious moment of gratitude, I
experienced a physical healing. Gratitude sets our hearts in the right place to
access the atonement.
Speaking of hearts, God just wants
our broken hearts. We are no longer required to sacrifice animals on the altar
to be consumed by fire. No, Heavenly Father invites us to put our hearts on the
altar to be consumed by the atonement. We have altars in the temple, and we
have an altar in this very room. Each week as we partake of the sacrament, or
as we attend the temple, we can symbolically place our hearts on the altar and
give up our sins and our animal nature and allow His atonement to purify us.
Any action we take to draw near to
Jesus Christ activates the POWER of the atonement. It’s really simple. Heavenly
Father ALWAYS prepares a way for us. The Book of Mormon testifies of that over
and over. All we need to do to access the way He has prepared is keep the
commandments. Years ago in a conference talk Sister Dew invited the women of
God to “identify at least one thing we can do to come out of the world and come
closer to Christ. And then next month, another. And then another.”
In January’s young adult fireside,
President Nelson challenged them to consecrate a portion of their time each
week to read EVERYTHING about the Savior in the standard works. He pronounced
promises with that challenge. He blogged about his 6 week experience with it on
lds.org. As I have studied the atonement of Jesus Christ, I have felt a greater
measure of the Spirit and I have felt the power of the Holy Ghost increase in
my life.
The simplest way to
access the atonement is all the Sunday School answers. If you want to discover
the way that is prepared before you by our Heavenly Father, do these things.
(Hold up For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, and the Vision for the Pima, Az
stake. Come unto Christ and invite others to do the same. Doing so will add
needed drops to our lamps as we wait for the bridegroom. Come Unto Christ
Sisters)
I testify that the atonement of Jesus
Christ is real. That if we ask our Heavenly Father what keeps us from accessing
the Atonement, He will give us an answer unique to us. If we ask Him how to
better access the Atonement, He’ll show us a unique way to do that too. We are
daughters of Heavenly Father. He loves us. He wants us to succeed. Jesus Christ
suffered all things so that He would know how to succor us. When we turn to
Him, He runs to our aid. Sometimes we can’t feel Him there, but He is. Likewise,
as we suffer, we will also know how to succor those within our influence. Elder
Orson F Whitney said:
“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.”
We are invited to be joint heirs with Him. The only easy path to
that is sharing the yoke with Him and giving Him our burdens, and like Him, NOT
SHRINK. If we ACCEPT that Christ suffered, why do we EXPECT that we won’t?
I add my testimony to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
“All your
losses will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue
faithful. By the vision of the Almighty I have seen it.”
I’m so very grateful that the Lord has compensated me already for
my losses. He has smiled down upon me in ways I could not have imagined as I
suffered in the furnace of my affliction. I’d like to close with this clip. The
refiner’s fire. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sacrament Meeting Talk, 02/19/2017
MERCY
What is mercy?
What are examples of it?
How do we obtain mercy?
LDS.org topic Mercy
Mercy is the compassionate treatment of a person greater than what is deserved, and it is made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Our Heavenly Father knows our weaknesses and sins. He shows mercy when He forgives us of our sins and helps us return to dwell in His presence.
The Savior satisfied the demands of justice when He stood in our place and suffered the penalty for our sins. Because of this selfless act, the Father can mercifully withhold punishment from us and welcome us into His presence….
Every blessing we receive is an act of mercy, more than we could ever merit on our own. Mormon taught, “All things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them” (Moroni 7:24). For example, we are recipients of divine mercy when Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers, when we receive guidance from the Holy Ghost, and when we are healed from sickness through priesthood power. Although all such blessings come as results of our obedience, we could never receive them through our efforts alone. They are merciful gifts from a loving and compassionate Father.
Although the meaning of grace is very broad, and grace and mercy often go hand in hand in the scriptures, for the purposes of our talks today, grace is the divine means of help or strength through the atonement. Again, grace and mercy are often used interchangeably, but it is BECAUSE OF our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s mercy, that we receive the grace They offer. It is a divine attribute, that we can also seek after.
As I thought about mercy, this was the definition I came up with. An attribute of God that is everlasting and eternal that reaches out to us who are undeserving and is offered freely and presently when we repent and turn to Him. His loving compassionate kindness.
In a June 2000 Ensign article, Elder Lance Wickman, Friends Again at Last, Justice and Mercy in the Warming Glow of Charity
Mercy and justice are each the products of His divine charity—the “pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47). Neither the justice nor the mercy of God can be understood, enjoyed, or emulated without also understanding—and practicing—the charity that is their essence.
In the story of the Good Samaritan, where the young lawyer asks “Who is my neighbor?” We are told of a certain man who fell among thieves, and how he was treated by a Priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. The final question Jesus asks regarding who was a neighbor, is answered with “he who showed mercy.” To which the Savior replies, “Go and do thou likewise.” As I’ve thought about that, and the “certain man” being a type of Jesus Christ, it reminds me of His counsel that “inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” When He shows daily His mercy for us, it is incumbent upon us to show mercy to others.
I had an experience several years ago with one of my children that I’ve pondered on occasion as I contemplate my Heavenly Father’s loving mercy for me. Our second son Chris had migraines from the time he was about six years old. When they came on, he’d have to go in a dark quiet room and hope that at some point he’d be sick enough to throw up, because it was only then that the pain would be relieved.
We were having a family reunion at Thanksgiving one year. Half way through the day my 15 year old was hit with the worst migraine of his life. That I’m aware of. We were at the Institute and he went into a quiet room. He ended up throwing up twice, but was never quite relieved of his suffering. As we moved to a brother and sister in law’s house in Thatcher, his pain began to elevate. With nearly 30 people in the house, it was anything but quiet. But I sat with him in a darkened, quieter room while he curled up in the fetal position rocking back and forth and crying. If you’ve ever watched a family member suffer without being able to do anything to help, you know that phrase in the scriptures that the Savior uses, “bowels filled with compassion” and “groaning within.”
As he cried in immense pain, I began to groan within. I prayed with everything I had in my mother heart that I could take his pain, knowing I couldn’t, and that he would be relieved from his suffering. I knew he needed a blessing and asked his father and uncles to please administer to him.
Typically, after he would throw up, he would then sleep from several hours to all night long before he woke up feeling better again. I was astonished, when he fell asleep quickly after the blessing, and woke up 30 minutes later free from pain and feeling well. I have never felt so grateful that not only was his pain relieved, but that my groaning and pleading had been answered and he was finally mercifully relieved.
If *I* could feel so deeply and desperately for my ailing son, how much more does our Savior and our Heavenly Father feel after us. How can we possibly doubt their love for us? Our Father did not spare His beloved Son, so that he could experience every single sin and sorrow we have ever felt, and know us and love us only the way someone can who has been there. Not only been there, but felt after each and every experience each and every one of us has ever had.
Alma 34
15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.
There isn’t time for me to teach all about the interplay between justice, the atonement, and mercy. But if you want to understand it better, you can read about it in Alma 42.
Going back to Elder Wickman, he says:
The plan of justice is “fair.” The plan of mercy moves beyond fairness—and that is the wonder of it! Justice delivers what we deserve; mercy delivers a charity we do not deserve.
It has been described this way: “It really isn’t fair that one person should suffer for the sins of others. It isn’t fair that some people can commit horrible crimes and then be completely forgiven and cleansed without having to suffer for them. It isn’t fair that those who labor for only an hour will get the same reward as those who labor all day. (See Matt. 20:16.) No, the gospel sometimes isn’t fair, but that is actually part of the good news. It isn’t fair—it’s merciful, and thank God it is so, for no human being can stand acquitted before the demands of absolute justice.”
Mercy is extended not because it is earned, not because it is just, but because it is rooted in love, even the pure love of Christ: charity.
But Christ has also commanded and invited US to extend mercy to others. Pres Monson told the story of 2 of his grandsons. At the time they were 15 and 4 years old.
“At times the need for mercy can be found close to home and in simple settings. We have a four-year-old grandson named Jeffrey. One day his fifteen-year-old brother, Alan, had just completed, on the family computer, a most difficult and rather ingenious design of an entire city. When Alan slipped out of the room for just a moment, little Jeffrey approached the computer and accidentally erased the program. Upon his return, Alan was furious when he observed what his brother had done. Sensing that his doom was at hand, Jeffrey raised his finger and, pointing it toward Alan, declared from his heart and soul, “Remember, Alan, Jesus said ‘Don’t hurt little boys.’” Alan began to laugh; anger subsided; mercy prevailed.”
I loved Brother Beals closing comments about accessing the atonement a few weeks ago. His thoughts were that we could not even access the atonement if we would judge others and if we refused to forgive others. I believe this also applies when we refuse to show mercy when it is in our power to do so.
The Lord declared in the Sermon on the Mt, Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. We misunderstand His words to “be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect” when we fail to read the verses preceding it.
“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
“And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Luke restated the injunction to be perfect as, Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Elder Wickman:
Mercy means learning to love others more than we love ourselves—and so does justice. They guide us to turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, and render to others more than they justly deserve—because we love them.
Why do we hold on to feelings of unforgivenenss, when holding onto resentment is so much more work?
Again quoting Elder Wickman:
This discussion of mercy that is extended to repentant sinners would not be complete without an excerpt from the letter of the Prophet Joseph Smith to the penitent W. W. Phelps, whose treacherous betrayal of the Prophet and the Saints in Missouri had added measurably to their travail in those dark and cheerless days:
“Dear Brother Phelps: I must say that it is with no ordinary feelings I endeavor to write a few lines to you in answer to your [letter]; at the same time I am rejoiced at the privilege granted me. … It is true, that we have suffered much in consequence of your behavior—the cup of gall, already full enough for mortals to drink, was indeed filled to overflowing when you turned against us. … However, the cup has been drunk, the will of the Father has been done, and we are yet alive, for which we thank the Lord. And having been delivered from the hands of wicked men by the mercy of our God, we say it is your privilege to be delivered from the powers of the adversary. … Believing your confession to be real, and your repentance genuine, I shall be happy to give you the right hand of fellowship, and rejoice over the returning prodigal. … ‘Come on, dear brother, since the war is past, For friends at first, are friends again at last.’
But how do we, like Joseph Smith, extend mercy? In President Uchtdorf's famous STOP IT talk addressing mercy, and echoing Elder Wickman’s connection to charity, he said,
When our hearts are filled with the love of God, something good and pure happens to us. We “keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.”
The more we allow the love of God to govern our minds and emotions—the more we allow our love for our Heavenly Father to swell within our hearts—the easier it is to love others with the pure love of Christ. As we open our hearts to the glowing dawn of the love of God, the darkness and cold of animosity and envy will eventually fade.
The pure love of Christ can remove the scales of resentment and wrath from our eyes, allowing us to see others the way our Heavenly Father sees us: as flawed and imperfect mortals who have potential and worth far beyond our capacity to imagine. Because God loves us so much, we too must love and forgive each other.
Testimony. I am grateful for our loving Heavenly Father’s grace and mercy. I am grateful that THROUGH mercy, I can access the grace that He is so willing and able to extend to us. I am thankful that as in the hymn, where he says he is our friend, that he is our intimate friend because he walks with us and has suffered everything we have. I am humbled that I am able to have mercy instead of perfect justice and that all I have to do is repent, reach out for my Savior’s help and be willing to extend it to others.
September 20, 2016 in Institute Devotional
How the
Atonement Lifts Burdens
My young brothers and sisters, It’s good
to be with you today. To look out at your bright, shining faces and see the
dreams in your eyes, and the vibrancy of youth, ready to get down to the
business of work and life and purpose. I wrote a talk Sunday night and it felt
completely wrong. When I discussed it with Brother Norton, he invited me, like
many other occasions to take a flying leap of faith. He said to just talk to
you, like it was just me and you, sitting in a chair, sharing my
experiences and what I’ve learned about the atonement. How did the atonement
help me in my trials?
The format of a devotional doesn’t quite
allow for that, because if we were sitting together, I would ask you a whole
bunch of questions. And we’d get to know each other, and then we’d share our
hearts. We’d get to the really good stuff. So, pretend we’ve done that. You’ve
told me where you are from and about your families. Some of your disappointments,
your excitement, your likes and dislikes. And now, maybe you’ve asked me
some questions. Sister Norton, why does life seem so unfair sometimes? Why is
life so hard sometimes? Does the Lord really care about my problems? How do I
get over the hurts that I carry in my heart? Why isn’t usually a good
question, but these are some of the things that come out of my heart. I am
praying they are helpful to you. I hope your prayers will be with me as I
share.
At age five my family blew to pieces.
Two very strong dominating personalities could not figure out how to avoid the
clash of emotions that was constant in our home. Divorce. I kinda hate that
word. Since I went through it with my dad three times. But such ugliness in
that first one. Destruction of personal property, harassment, one trying to run
over the other in a car, and two small children, pawns in the drama. One of my
first clear memories AFTER my family blew to pieces and we had been illegally
relocated (kidnapped), one of my first clear memories was of a fast and
testimony meeting. I might have been six years old. We didn’t go to church
every week because the drive was an hour away and my dad has never been active.
(My parents were recent converts and that’s a whole other story). As a six year
old, I was overwhelmed with the spirit, and I stood to bear my testimony. I don’t
even remember as an inactive six year old, WHAT I knew! But I know the Spirit I
FELT. I know that what I heard in my little mind and heart was being planted
deep within. I felt the spirit and I knew it was true. Guard your testimonies. The
Holy Ghost is your friend, your constant companion, your Comforter. Do ALL THAT
YOU CAN DO, to be worthy of that friend. Oh how you need and will need the Holy
Ghost!
For just a moment, I’d like you to go
back to age 5 or 6. Think of your mom. Hopefully you like your mom. Now, do a
quick flash forward through your life till now. Think of the happy times, hugs,
birthdays, warm smiles, encouragement. Now erase them all and grow up without
her. Imagine for just a minute how you might feel today, sitting there, without
that stable foundation in your life. And if you didn’t have that, like me,
please come up after and we’ll share a hug. Maybe for some of you it was not
having a dad. But if you can imagine just a part of that, that’s how I felt.
Foundationless, incomplete, unsure, mistrusting, confused about me, confused
about others. My Heavenly Father knew all that.
It still kind of boggles my mind, because
I don’t GET how He provided for my losses. He compensated me with strengths and
gifts, and a WILL to be good. He put the best in my path that He could
considering my circumstances. I had a beautiful Granny who taught me to
memorize Bible verses. And an Auntie who did the same. While they weren’t there
every day and weren’t members of the Church, they were a big part of my life,
especially in my teens. And friends! Friends were my saving grace. My gospel
life blossomed when I met new friends at Girl’s Camp the summer I moved from
the only home I’d known since the divorce. Nothing I could do would stop my dad’s
inspiration to move us closer to that Granny and Auntie. That’s what the atonement
does. It takes the parts you have NO
CONTROL over, and constructs alternate ways to overcome loss, absence, pain,
uncertainty.
Isaiah said:
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
The CHASTISEMENT of OUR peace, was
upon Him. Think about that.
The Savior
invites us:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Elder Holland said,
In this promise, that introductory phrase, “come unto me,” is crucial. It is the key to the peace and rest we seek… He is saying to us, “Trust me, learn of me, do what I do. Then, when you walk where I am going,” He says, “we can talk about where you are going, and the problems you face and the troubles you have. If you will follow me, I will lead you out of darkness,” He promises. “I will give you answers to your prayers. I will give you rest to your souls.
And it’s
true. The Lord gave me good friends with good families to fill in the missing
gaps. He gave me Young Women leaders and he blessed me with the Holy Ghost in
abundance. Every time I went to church, heard a lesson in early morning seminary
or YW, at girl’s camps, and youth conferences. I had to learn on my own about
prayer and reading the scriptures because these things weren’t modeled to me by
my dad. I learned in the homes of my friends. Those whisperings of the spirit
motivated me, inspired me, and in my humble state, filled me with hope and a
perfect love. (That’s Moroni 8: 26) With the help of all those people I
mentioned, I got myself to church and seminary and YW meetings, usually
attending alone. My testimony grew and my desire to be good did too. Fill your
lives with good friends. They might be a sibling, parent, cousin, grandparent,
or actual non-related FRIEND. Whatever kind they are, be friends with people
who LIFT you, ENCOURAGE you, ARE THERE for you. And you be that kind of friend
to others in need as well. Don’t be impressed with ME. Be impressed with the
gifts of the atonement.
Fast forward
to 19, skipping all the awkward teen, no mom moments going through puberty, and
dating, and other girl stuff…HORRIFYING and HUMILIATING!
I was in my
third year at BYU and was convinced I was a freak because I wasn’t
married and most of my friends were. I had secretly met my mother and begun
corresponding with her, when in the middle of it, she was diagnosed with breast
cancer which I honestly did not really understand. It wasn’t really openly
discussed in those days). Long story short, I told my dad about our
relationship, it created a tremendous RIFT in my family (I told you that
divorce was really messy), and I had a swarm of angry family members demanding
that I drop the relationship. In the fury of it all, and in my youth and
inexperience, I told my mom, but I didn’t do anything. I froze, but two months
later, after a prolonged bout with depression, my mother took her life.
If we were
sitting together sharing how this is intended, I guarantee you we’d be a few
hours. But you were imagining my life without mom, and then there was a hope
that she could maybe be a part again, and then the storm, and anger, and
indecision, and now she’s really GONE. Like forever gone. Will never be at my
wedding gone, will never be a grandma to my children gone, will never give me
the advice I need at more critical moments gone. GONE. In a senseless tragic
way that I didn’t even know if she could be redeemed.
I got to see
her twice and now maybe I would never see her again. HOW in any version of the
story, short or long, could this be right? How could this happen? How in the
world could I go on? When I got the phone call, and then dropped the phone,
slumped to the floor and began shrieking, my best friend said she could hear me
across the street behind the closed door of our home evening brothers’ house. He
came running, took me in his arms and rocked me. One of the tenderest acts of
love in my life that I’ve ever received. And then he gave me a blessing. I don’t
remember it, but I remember being grateful for a priesthood that was available
to me from a friend that was not available to me from my dad. The Priesthood.
If you have it dear brothers, be worthy to reach your hands out in loving
compassion to those who are nearby that may need to call upon you. It’s a gift
that can help extend the mercy of the atonement to others.
That day,
was a defining moment in my life. My struggle to comprehend it, the answers
that came to my prayers over it. The wrestling over it for years after..the
understanding of the preciousness of relationships. SO MUCH has come from that
one day. But NOTHING can separate us from the love of God with the atonement.
Then I got
married and had seven kids graduated from BYU and lived happily ever after.
Just kidding. Kind of. There have been many more opportunities to learn of and
experience the blessings of the atonement to lift my burdens. Struggling to
overcome the negative emotions around abuse, physical challenges that
introduced me to levels of pain I didn’t know existed, (but the Savior does) bouts
of depression where I wondered if the lights would ever turn back on, the
struggle to conquer personal negative habits and traits to be a better parent,
friend, wife, family member. If you haven’t already, you’ll have experiences
that are custom tailored to you, so that you can gain a greater understanding of
the atonement. It’s a subject that is the most important of any other that we
can study and gain a testimony of. It’s a subject that I learned this time
through that we ought to return to over and over again so that we can
understand it just a little more.
A few
suggestions to help you have greater access to the atonement. First, the father
of lies would have you believe that you aren’t worth the trouble. He’s the only
one I know who will tell you lies to get you to sin, (no one will ever know, it’s
only a little sin, you can repent later) and then turn around and use lies to
keep you miserable (everyone knows what you did, this sin is too big to repent,
He’ll never forgive you). And we let HIM! If your thoughts make you doubt,
despair, or feel discouraged, know that the father of lies is whispering in
your ear and then cast him out. The Savior used five words. Get thee behind me
satan.
Second- Understand
your divine nature. I am a child of God is not just a little children’s song we
sing. It is one of the greatest truths to which we have access. You are His
CHILD. Read and understand John 3: 17. Loving parents don’t condemn
children that don’t understand all things and are trying to learn and grow.
They hold our hands, and encourage, and invite us to be better. When we fail or
fall or rebel, they reach out, lift up, and desire with all their hearts better
things for us. Our Heavenly Parents are infinitely more extending of a hand to
lift us to them. Think of any toddler with tear stained cheeks. Would a parent
toss them away for mistakes made? No! They scoop them up in their arms and
cover them with kisses and reassurances. That is what the atonement does and
our Savior Jesus Christ. It’s a loving invitation to be wrapped in the arms of
safety and peace.
Next- Change
your negative thoughts to positive and practice gratitude daily. See challenges
as opportunities. You can change your negative thoughts with practice, one by
one by one. Notice them, erase them, replace them. Gratitude is one of THE MOST
POWERFUL habits I’ve ever practiced. We are commanded to be grateful in ALL
things. NOTHING kindles God’s wrath more than when we do not confess His hand
in ALL things. There is always something to be grateful for and as my husband
often says, things could always be worse.
Next-Increase
your faith. There is a term used in the Book of Mormon, eye of faith. Read
about that in Ether 12: 18 and 19 and to better understand it, find an article
by the same name in the September 1988 New Era. Faith isn’t straining so hard
to believe something that it happens. It’s seeing it to completion in your mind
before it happens and simply not doubting. Practice casting out doubt. Even
when the evidence is overwhelming. Read carefully the details in Mark 4, the
story of Jesus calming the storm. There was plenty of evidence they were going
under, but the Savior convicted them with questions about fear and faith.
Finally, Increase power in your life. There are over 450
scriptures with that word in it. Study the scriptures topically. Put your
devices down and pray…when you drive, when you walk, while you take a test,
pray always. Paul said, Let
us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help
in time of need. Attend your meetings and partake of
the sacrament and the Spirit. Lay your burdens on the altars in the chapel and
the temple and let the atonement consume them. TRUST your Heavenly Father that
He will save you, not just from your sins, but from your every earthly care.
It’s through the enabling power of the atonement that we can
develop Christlike attributes. We accept that Christ suffered, but why do
WE expect not to suffer? Men are that they might have JOY. We can have joy even in our trials. But it is
the atonement that refines us and invites us to be like Jesus.
I started with Isaiah, and I’ll end with it. In 61:2-3;
Christ’s appointment-- to comfort all that mourn…to give unto them beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
I testify
that the atonement of Jesus Christ is real. That there is power when we access
it. That we access it by relying solely on our Heavenly Father’s plan and our
Savior’s infinite love. I testify that the Lord knows us each by name. His
atonement is not only infinite but individual. That his will and his timing are
wiser than our temporary wants and demands. And I testify that the Lord can and
does and will make up all of our losses. My heartbreaks have been mended. The
desires of my heart have been granted. He has given me beauty for ashes, the
oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for heaviness and my desire
is to be his tree of righteousness and glorify Him, in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
***********************************************************************
December 15, 2013 in our new ward (Pima 2nd)
The Atonement in our Relationship
with the Savior and Others
Brief intro. Born in Burbank, Ca. Parents
divorced. Grew up with father and brother in Ga. Less Active. Younger half brother. BYU.
My mother died when I was 19. On my way to a mission in Sau Paulo, Brazil,
I got engaged, married. 1988. Graduated with degree in Elementary Education. 7
children, 2 oldest married, one expecting in Feb. Joseph mission in Ogden, Ut,
1 preparing for a mission, 2 girls, 1 boy at home. Passion is health, wellness,
self improvement. Bret born in Lordsbug, grew up most of his life in Duncan. Went to EAC. Served mission in Osaka, Japan.
BYU. Intercepted me on the way to my mission. Graduated degree in History. Taught
seminary and Institute for 24 years. Masters in Educational Leadership.
Released Jan. as Bishop Duncan Ward. Celebrated 25th anniversary.
Went to Israel.
Our topic is the atonement.
You KNOW about the atonement, I just want to speak briefly to its application.
We have been commanded to be perfect. And we know that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God. None of us has the capability of being perfect now. Perfection is required but all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is the eternal dilemma for which the Great Plan of Happiness was prepared. We have a ransom on our head that we can never pay, no matter how we stack up our good works. It is through repentance and the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ, along with mercy and justice that we are able to return and live with our Heavenly Father. What a relief. Alma chapter 32-42 are full of these doctrines.
Speaking of justice and mercy, President Kimball said,
“There are many people who seem to rely solely on the Lord’s mercy rather than on accomplishing their own repentance. … The Lord may temper justice with mercy, but he will never supplant it. Mercy can never replace justice. God is merciful, but he is also just.”
Justice says, if you sin, you
must be punished. And eternally separated from your heavenly parents. Mercy
says, if you repent, the atonement pays for your sin, and you will be restored
to a relationship with Christ and Heavenly Father. Because sin is sin, the size
of the sin doesn’t matter. Pride and anger will keep you from His presence just
as easily as murder and adultery. The consequences and repentance may be
heavier, but you still aren’t returning to His presence.
The scriptures are very clear
that justice is a divine attribute. When laws are broken, someone has to pay.
But even when you pay, it can at times not be enough. Samuel the Lamanite
warned of repentance being everlastingly too late for those who have
procrastinated the day of their repentance.
A few years back, in the
fall, I went to pick up Bret from the Institute and as I turned on College Ave., I
noticed a policeman behind me. My heart sank and as I pulled into a space,
right in front of the building as class was letting out. He came in behind me
and turned on the lights. I had no idea what I had done. And I was really
embarrassed. He asked me for my documents and commented that my tags were
expired.
And immediately, I knew what
had happened. There had been a county wide addressing change and I had not sent
the change of address to the MVD. Not first on my list. He kindly wrote me up
for not having it in my possession instead of not having it at all. Well, I
bought the tags and in my busy-ness forgot to pay the fine.
I mean completely forgot. Until I got a notice in the mail that says I now
have fines on top of the original for over $500 and I felt sick. I cried, I was
angry, I said some not very nice things about the post office, the county, the
police man, the judge. I called the judge and pleaded for mercy and he said “Well,
you can come to court if you want.” OK, I will plead my very sad story and he
will give me mercy. So, I go see him and he asks me if I want to pay the
fine???? No. Long story short, there was
mercy. He didn’t make me pay the $500, but
there was also justice. I had to pay the original fine which he knocked off
about $50.
Brothers and sisters, there
is a law in Az.
You must have current tags. No one cares if the post office changed your
address and the MVD is not on your Cmas list and you’re a blond CEO. He was the
judge. And though he had the power to extend a little mercy, he could not just
sweep away the law for me. I broke it. The law required justice and that a fine
be paid. There are also laws we call commandments. They must be kept. There is
a punishment for not keeping them. And someone has to pay.
My question to you is do you
want the Lord to be just or merciful? I
don’t want justice. I want mercy. I want Him to sweep away the law. I want
someone to pay the fine for me. I want Him to keep me from jail. I don’t want
to go to jail and be separated from those I love. I want someone to do the time
for me. And this is exactly what the
atonement does for us. Our Savior pays in full, the ransom on our heads. We
cannot be saved without the grace and mercy and merits of Jesus Christ.
And how does it apply to
others? I will summarize the story I’m going to share and read one or two
verses.
If you will turn now or later
to 1 Samuel 25, you will see a little mentioned or appreciated story. If you
have read the book the Peacegiver, you will recognize it and maybe understand
where I am going with it. In this Chapter we have David, the beloved, Nabal,
the fool, and Abigail, whose name means Father or originator of rejoicing.
Without all the background,
David is hiding out in the wilderness from Saul, with 600 soldiers. Nabal is
extremely prosperous and his flocks and shepherds are in the same location.
Unlike other armies, David has not ransacked the flocks, but has befriended the
shepherds and protected the flocks. But the supplies are running out. So, David
sends a blessing to Nabal; to him, and to his household. Explains his dilemma
and then asks if in return for protecting his flocks, if he would send some
provisions for he and his soldiers. And Nabal the fool, says, “Who are you? I
don’t care that you are the son of Jesse. Big deal.”
David doesn’t take his
response very kindly. He decides to take 400 soldiers and march to Carmel against Nabal and completely
wipe him out and his household. But before he can leave, one of his soldiers
that he has sent his message with to Nabal, rushes to Abigail to tell her what
is about to happen. Abigail, “the originator of rejoicing” and Nabal’s wife,
realizes immediately realizes how foolish her husband is and sends in Vs 18,
two hundred loaves of bread, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready
dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins,
and two hundred cakes of figs, to David without Nabal knowing, and she follows behind
the provisions. Two bottles of wine for 600 men, I think that’s funny. Then we
get to the really good stuff. Abigail HASTENS to David and falls on her face at
his feet. And what does she say in Vs 24-31?
Upon me, my
lord, upon me let this
iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray
thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.
And now in MY words. “Don’t regard this fool, Nabal. I
DIDN’T SEE the men you sent. Let this blessing I’ve brought you be given to
your men. Forgive me my trespass. The Lord is going to make you great and vs
31,
That this
shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that
thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when
the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then
remember thine handmaid.
Isn’t it remarkable that Abigail says, Let this
iniquity be ON ME? Forgive me MY trespass. Don’t add further sin to Nabal’s
foolishness. The Lord has a work for you to do.
Nabal has clearly committed the sin against David, but
Abigail pleads for him to allow the sin to be on her and to forgive HER for it.
Abigail is a type of Christ. And although Christ doesn’t actually ask us to
forgive HIM for another’s sin, he is standing in that same position as Abigail,
as THE originator of rejoicing. THE FATHER of rejoicing, with the good news
that HE has taken the sin of others against us and is asking us to drop our
swords, to drop our anger, to drop our judgments, to stop our march to Carmel
no matter how just, and invites us to be merciful instead. WOW.
It’s no coincidence that the beatitudes bless those
who are merciful with the gift of receiving mercy. As simple as the concept is,
this can be THE MOST difficult doctrine in the church to live by and accept. I
speak from experience. I’ve had relationships where I was misunderstood,
maligned, mistreated…purposely. Slandered, hated, lied about. And all while
being in a position that I could say nothing, share with almost no one, and do
nothing but suffer through it and hope I’d survive. IT WAS HARD. Plain and
simple.
I wanted to strike back. I wanted to hurt. I didn’t
want to turn the other cheek. I wanted to hate. But I knew it would only hurt
me. I knew that there was a higher standard I needed to live by. I knew that
the only person I could control was me, and that was who I needed to start
with. I realized through the story of David and Abigail, that if I refused to
forgive others who had wronged me, that it would be exactly like denying the
atonement in behalf of someone else. I want to repeat that, if I refused to
forgive another for their sin against me, and further complicate things by
adding more sin to the heap, it would be exactly like refusing to allow the
Savior’s atonement. We give plenty of lip service to “Jesus died for my sins
and for yours.” But he also died for my sin against you and your sin against
me. Why can’t we just accept that?
When we DO allow the atonement to pay for the sins of
others, we are willing to forgive and move on. Doesn’t mean we have to vacation
together, go to lunch, or be besties. We just have to let it go and allow the
atonement to bring us peace. We either believe He is the Prince of Peace or we
don’t.
To David’s everlasting credit, he accepted the
blessing of Abigail, as if his blessing had been returned. He graciously
thanked her for stopping him. In vs 33.
And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be
thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed
blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.
For David, that was the end of it. He simply let it
go. In fairness, Nabal dropped dead of a heart attack a few days later and
David ended up marrying Abigail. No fair wishing your enemy will drop dead. All
of the negative consequences from their sin against us will fall upon them if
they choose not to repent. David didn’t know when he blessed Abigail on her way
what the outcome would be. It is still basically required of us to LET IT GO.
It is my prayer brothers and sisters, that we will
accept the atonement in our own behalf, and allow the grace and merits and
mercy of Jesus Christ to save us. And that we will choose to be as David in
allowing the atonement to bring peace when others sin against us. To be
merciful in accepting His atonement and the abundant blessing that he brings
with it, to heal our pain, and bring us joy. I love the words and blessing of
Isaiah, “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the
oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”
I’m so grateful for the atonement, for this glorious gospel, and for the mercy
of my Savior toward me in giving me beauty for ashes, in His holy name, Jesus
Christ. Amen
January 27, 2013 in our new ward (Thatcher 3rd)
Sacrament/Sanctification
Brief intro. I
was born in Burbank, Ca. Parents divorced. Grew up with father and brother in Ga. Have a younger half
brother. Went to BYU. My mother, who I did not have a chance to know very well,
died when I was 19. On my way to a mission in Sau Paulo, Brazil,
I got engaged, married. 1988. Graduated with degree in Elementary Education. We
have 7 children, 5 boys, 2 girls, ages 23 to 9. No grandkids yet. Passion is
health and wellness. J Bret born in Lordsbug, grew up most of
his life in Duncan.
Went to EAC. Served a mission in Osaka,
Japan. Went to
BYU. Intercepted me on the way to my mission. Graduated with a degree in
History. Has taught seminary and Institute for 23 years. Masters in Educational
Leadership. Just released as Bishop Duncan Ward.
In the Sacrament talk by Elder Clarke, one of his points was that During the Sacrament We Can Feel Forgiven of Our Sins. And this is what I would like to focus my talk on. I’ll be just touching on the atonement, repentance, mercy, and justice. I’d like to start with a question that a BYU professor used to start his classes with. When you leave this life, do you want the Lord to be fair? I’ll leave that thought hanging till later.
We have been commanded to be perfect. And we know that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God. Which basically means we are all toast, because none of us has the capability of being perfect now. Perfection is required but all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is the eternal dilemma for which the Great Plan of Happiness was prepared. It is through repentance and the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ, along with mercy and justice that we are able to return and live with our Heavenly Father. What a relief. Alma chapter 32-42 are full of these doctrines and it’s a blessing to study them.
Speaking of mercy, President Kimball said,
“There are many people who seem to rely solely on the Lord’s mercy rather than on accomplishing their own repentance. … The Lord may temper justice with mercy, but he will never supplant it. Mercy can never replace justice. God is merciful, but he is also just.”
I’d like you to
picture for a moment, yourselves dressed in white and walking along your life
path. And suppose the white represents our souls. It’s nice and white. We step
out of the waters of baptism clean and pure. And then we walk back into life. Each
sin is like a dirty spot on our white clothing. We tell a little lie. We get
angry at someone. We steal something. We gossip behind someone’s back. We judge
our neighbor. We revert to an old habit. We break the Sabbath. Maybe we have
even committed serious sins. You can see that if we continue on this way, it
won’t be long until we are completely covered in our dirty sins and there is
not much left that is white.
It really
doesn’t matter how large or small they are. Except that the payment for some
may be quite high and impossible actually to pay. How do you restore a person’s
reputation, or a person’s chastity or a person’s life? If we forget to repent
for one sin, we are not spotless and cannot return to our Father. Repentance
helps us, it is some of the works that we can do to show our Father we have a
contrite heart, but it won’t take us all the way.
The scriptures
are very clear that justice is a divine attribute. When laws are broken,
someone has to pay. But even when you pay, it can at times not be enough. And
there are all the thou shalts, I don’t have time to cover. What about if we die
before we repent, where are we left?
Samuel the
Lamanite warned of our repentance being everlastingly too late for those who
have procrastinated the day of their repentance.
I had an
experience a few years ago that I think teaches some of these principles. One
day in the fall, I went to pick up Bret from the Institute and as I turned on College Ave., I
noticed a policeman behind me. You know the feeling. Oh no, what did I do?
Fortunately, as I turned into the parking lot, he drove on. He must have
thought better of it, because as I pulled into a space, right in front of the
building as class was letting out, he came in another entrance parked askew
behind me and turned on the lights. What did I do? What did I do? And I was
really embarrassed. Here are all these students, and there is Brother Norton’s
wife about to be thrown in the pokey. He asked me for my documents and
commented that my tags were expired.
And
immediately, I knew what had happened and I just kept thinking it’s not my
fault. The previous year, the rural addresses in the county all changed. And
the PO told us after Dec they were not going
to deliver mis-addressed mail. Anybody out there have the MVD on their
Christmas card list? Me neither. And I forgot. He kindly wrote me up for not
having it in my possession instead of not having it at all. Well, I was and am
a busy CEO of a small corporation and I don’t have a secretary. That was my
excuse. I purchased my tags the next day. I had to come back to Pima and pay a
fine and he told me he thought the judge would be lenient.
So, I paid the
fine, right? Wrong! I forgot to go back, until I got a notice in the mail that
says I now have fines on top of the original for over $500 and I felt sick. I
cried, I was angry, I said some not very nice things about the post office, the
county, the police man, the judge. I called the judge and pleaded for mercy and
he said to come in and we would take care of it. So, I go see him and he asks
me if I want to pay the fine???? No. Well, you can come to court if you want.
OK, I will plead my very sad story and he will give me mercy. Long story short,
there was mercy. He didn’t make me
pay the $500, but there was also justice.
I had to pay the original fine which he knocked off about $50.
There is a law
in Az. You
must have current tags. No one cares if the post office changed your address
and the MVD is not on your Cmas list and your
a blond CEO. The judge actually told me he liked being known as a mean
judge, which really, he was not mean. He was the judge. And though he had the
power to extend a little mercy, he could not just sweep away the law for me. I
broke it. The law required justice and that a fine be paid.
Now let me ask
you the question I started with again. Do you still want the Lord to be fair? I
don’t. I want mercy. I want Him to sweep away the law. I want someone to pay
the fine for me. In a more serious situation, the law could require jail time.
I don’t want to go to jail. I want someone to do the time for me.
There is at
least a billion dollar ransom on my head, and on each of yours. Satan wants to
have us. He knows the law requires justice. Maybe that’s why he wants us to
sin; he wants justice to be paid. So, maybe each day, if we do our very best,
we can have a $100 day. But that’s being perfect, so realistically maybe we
have a $50 day. If we live 75 years at $50 a day we pay back not quite 1 ½
million dollars. And that is a good day. We did our visiting teaching, we took
care of a sick child, we read our scriptures and we didn’t get angry all day.
Well, all those things are good but the ransom is 1 BILLION dollars. There are 1000 millions in a billion. We’d have to
live 75,000 yrs to pay it back that way. THAT is much more serious than any
fiscal cliff! It’s IMPOSSIBLE.
Repentance is
part of the answer.
Elder Hinckley said in conference a few years ago.
“I will speak briefly of the principle of repentance. How grateful I am for the understanding we have of this great principle. It is not a harsh principle, as I thought when I was a boy. It is kind and merciful. The Hebrew root of the word means, simply, "to turn,"1 or to return, to God. Jehovah pled with the children of Israel: "Return . . . and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful . . . and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God."2
“When we acknowledge our sins, confess them and forsake them, and turn to God, He will forgive us.”
Brothers and
sisters how blessed we are to have that knowledge!
Just a few
thoughts on the sacrament and how it works with the atonement and repentance. First
of all, since we are not supposed to partake of the sacrament unworthily, we
should be in the regular habit of repenting before we come on Sunday and
partake. And we should come to the sacrament with a spirit of repentance.
President Hinckley said that when the priest says the sacrament prayer, he is
putting the congregation under covenant. I never thought of it that way before.
But before we get to those covenants, we ask the Lord for something.
That (in the
name of His Son) he will bless and SANCTIFY the bread and water TO THE SOULS of
all those who partake or drink of it. What does the word sanctify mean? To set apart to a sacred purpose or to free from sin.
In
his excellent article in the Ensign on Justification and Sanctification, Elder
Christofferson said:
“To be sanctified through the blood of Christ is to
become clean, pure, and holy. If justification removes the punishment for past
sin, then sanctification removes the stain or effects of sin.”
Are you still
wearing your white clothes we talked about? Are they dirty? Well come to
sacrament meeting, and partake of the sacrament! I believe it is part of God’s
answer of mercy and grace to the problem of justice. It is as if we are being
re-baptized every week for that week’s sins. And our garments are being made
clean and white again.
I’d like to close with a few
brief scriptures. 1 Ne 1:20.
But
behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender cmercies• of the Lord are over all
those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even
unto the power of ddeliverance.
And in Alma 34: 16:
Finally, Alma 34: 31.
Yea, I
would that ye would come forth and aharden not your hearts any longer; for behold,
now is the time and the bday•
of your csalvation•;
and therefore, if ye will repent and dharden not your hearts, immediately shall the
great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.
It is my testimony, that we can have the great plan of redemption brought about to us IMMEDIATELY by not hardening our hearts, by repenting, and by partaking of the sacrament and being sanctified by the grace and mercy of our Savior. The gospel is true. I am so thankful for it. And I leave these things with you……
October 23, 2012 (given at Gila Valley Institute devotional)
Citizenship
On September 16, 1986, I
rushed up to the Marriott Center at BYU from my classes to hear our then
prophet, President Ezra Taft Benson, address the student body. It was a
devotional Tuesday, and I did not understand at the time, why the topic of the
devotional was what it was. (And you might be wondering the same thing today) I
had no idea how significant that talk would be years before the future of
America seemed at stake. His text was titled, The Constitution, A Heavenly
Banner. I highly and enthusiastically suggest this talk for your study. If you
want to receive a real education on the blessings of America and the
Constitution, and how our government should function according to eternal
principles, read everything you can find and watch everything on youtube you
can find on these topics that came from ETB.
He began by saying to
understand the significance of the Constitution, we HAD to understand certain
eternal principles. I’d like to briefly summarize those principles.
1) Agency. The question with
agency according to Pres Benson is:
“Shall the children of God
have untrammeled agency to choose the course they should follow, whether good
or evil, or shall they be coerced and forced to be obedient?”
That is a good question to
apply to any governmental policy. Does it infringe on agency? Does it use
force?
2) Proper role of government.
(President Benson gave an entire talk on this concept)
Turn to D&C 134: 1-2, 5
if you want to read along.
[I] believe that governments
were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men
accountable for their acts in relation to them. . . .
[I] believe that no
government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate
as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right
and control of property, and the protection of life. . . .
[I] believe that all men are
bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside,
while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such
governments. [D&C 134:1–2, 5] In other words, the most important single
function of government is to secure the rights and freedoms of individual
citizens.
3) Source of human rights.
“Rights are either God-given
as part of the divine plan, or they are granted by government as part of the
political plan.”
Declaration of Independence.
We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty,
and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed.
4) People are superior to
Governments.
“Since God created people with certain inalienable
rights, and they, in turn, created government to help secure and safeguard
those rights, it follows that the people are superior to the creature they
created.”
5) Governments should have
limited power.
“By deriving its just powers
from the governed, government becomes primarily a mechanism for defense against
bodily harm, theft, and involuntary servitude. It cannot claim the power to
redistribute money or property nor to force reluctant citizens to perform acts
of charity against their will. Government is created by the people. No
individual possesses the power to take another's wealth or to force others to
do good, so no government has the right to do such things either. The creature
cannot exceed the creator.”
President Benson went on to
give a talk in General Conference the next year, Oct 1987, called The Divine
Constitution. He said:
“Unfortunately, we as a
nation have apostatized in various degrees from different Constitutional
principles as proclaimed by the inspired founders. We are fast approaching that
moment prophesied by Joseph Smith when he said: “Even this nation will be on
the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground, and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will
be the staff upon which the nation shall lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction”
One thing I remember from
that talk is his reverence for the Constitution. He said, “I reverence the
Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are
akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed His stamp of approval upon
it.”
Rhetorical question. How many
of you have read the Declaration of Independence? The Constitution? If we truly
reverence these documents and our nation (not just by showing up at a parade on
July 4), but believing as President Benson did, that these documents were and
are sacred, then we will read and study them. I’ve read them both many times.
The first time or two through the Declaration of Independence, you might need a
dictionary and this may sound strange, but it’s brought me to tears reading it,
more than once.
President Benson gave 4 ways
we could befriend the Constitution from what he termed 25 years ago as a
“critical crisis.”
*First and foremost, we must
be righteous.
*Second, we must learn the
principles of the Constitution in the tradition of the Founding Fathers.
*Third, we must become
involved in civic affairs to see that we are properly represented.
*Fourth, we must make our
influence felt by our vote, our letters, our teaching, and our advice.
I will be focusing the
remainder of my comments on numbers 3 and 4. Once again I strongly recommend
this amazing conference talk by President Benson for your study.
I’ve come to find out that no
matter what stage in life you are, you are likely busy. High School and college
are filled with studies, work, social activities, recreational activities, and
so forth. Getting married just adds to the busy ness. Then you throw a kid or 2
or 7 in to the mix, and now you add more schedules to your own. But there are a
myriad of ways that you can become civically involved in your community and
national issues. I’ll share several ways I have done that.
The first is simply to be
informed. If you are 18 years old, you have the right to vote. I didn’t even
know for the first several elections I participated in, that they happened
every TWO years. I voted every FOUR years in the presidential election, but a
percentage of the congress and senate are elected every two years. There are
also state elections every two years. It took me awhile to figure that out. So
if you miss this one, get the next one in two years. Read the Constitution and
compare laws being made to its principles.
Many young adults (and adults)
in our day spend inordinate amounts of time on social media, texting, playing
video games, and generally spending a lot of time being distracted. In small
amounts there is certainly nothing wrong with those interests. But if you spend
hours every day, and don’t know issues or don’t volunteer your time, you are
not only wasting your life but you are shirking your responsibilities. That’s
the gospel according to Sister Norton, so take it for what it’s worth.
Or maybe you’ve heard of a
guy named Elder Perry. He said:
“We have been blessed with
the light of the gospel to lead us and to guide and direct our lives. Through
our understanding and study of the scriptures, we have a knowledge of the laws
of the Lord by which we should govern our earthly conduct. With this great
blessing comes an obligation to be a part of the communities in which we live.
Our influence should be felt to safeguard the moral standards in the villages,
in the towns, and in the cities where our homes are located in all parts of the
world. I challenge you to become involved in lifting the moral standards of the
communities where your homes are.”
The next thing you can do is
become and armchair activist. That’s what I call it. Find laws or topics that
are important to you. Whether it is marriage, abortion, national security, or
any other hundreds of topics, find a facebook page or website to get
information from. Be familiar with changes happening. Be willing to write a
letter to the editor. Be willing to write your state and national legislators.
Be willing to sign petitions, share them with others to sign, and if necessary
boycott, or support good actions from businesses who support your issue.
Sometimes it is only through a groundswell of citizen voices that legislators
even know that their constituents care. I have done all of the things I just
suggested. Most of them take hardly any time at all, and often the websites
that email me, give me the links, and sometimes an outline of the right things
to say or ask.
The first few years we were
married, I did not do much of any kind of civic duty, and we didn’t even have a
computer back then. I was just trying to survive with 3 small boys in 4 years
and barely keeping my head above water. The first opportunity I had to get
involved with a civic group was when I had those 3 boys. I’m not even sure how
I got involved with a group called American Mothers, but I tried to start a
local chapter. This is the group who started Mother’s Day and chooses a
national Mother of the Year every year. So, I tried to start this chapter and
before I knew it I was attending meetings, and eventually was nominated as a
young honor mother, and eventually was Vice President of the Arizona state
organization. I would have gone on to be President, but the organization was in
Phoenix and I was in Duncan, and I just could not make the commitment for 2
more years.
Well, it seems I’ve never
stopped since then. Much of the years, I have spent doing the smaller things.
Writing letters, staying informed, sharing my opinion in discussions (hopefully
in some kind of intelligent way—do you know how hard that is to do when all
you’ve done for years is change like 50,000 diapers?)
Obeying the laws of the land is
another very important way to be a good citizen. Staying informed, supporting
moral issues the church asks us to. And talking about issues with your family.
I’m hoping when it is all over, we will have contributed 7 little conservatives
to the world. We are fortunate in this day and age to be able to choose our
news online in a variety of ways. For those who complain about the media today,
we have plenty of other places to get news and information.
My children eventually
started school, and a group of us mothers wanted a PTA, so we started one.
Eventually I served as VP and President of that group. A few years ago, the
church asked the members to support marriage. We were asked by a member of the
Stake Presidency to give a significant amount of money to that effort. We did
that. I was also asked to be in charge of putting together a committee to spend
time sitting in a booth at our local county fair to hand out information on
that issue. I’ve spent YEARS helping in scouting or helping OUR scouts to do
their duty to god, country, and scouting. Our 4th son just finished
his Eagle project this last weekend.
As my children grew older and
I had concerns about various issues, I began attending school board meetings
once a month. I did what I could to meet and discuss things with
administrators, voice my opinions in the meetings, make myself available for
vacancies, and eventually ran unsuccessfully for the school board. Sometimes
you win, sometimes you don’t. I was fine with it either way.
More recently I was
recruited, interviewed, and chosen to be in a rural leadership development
program. This is civic involvement at a whole new level. I am now in a stage in
my life where I have some time to be able to make this kind of commitment. It
is a 2 year program. 6 times each year, we meet for a 3 day seminar. I leave on
Thursday and get home on Saturday. The meetings are held all over the state. But
each seminar we focus on issues like education, healthcare, environmental
issues, agriculture, national security, immigration, economic development, leadership
skills, and so forth. At the end of our first year, we spent a week in Canada
learning about their similar issues. And at the end of my second year, next May
we will be going to Washington DC for a week. I am required to create and carry
out a community project. Mine is organized around providing resources to all of
the students in Greenlee County on bullying. I imagine at the end of the
program, I will be challenged to continue to find ways to be involved in my
community. And I plan on making that a lifelong pursuit. I am blessed to have a
loving husband who supports me in being a better person and leader, and takes
care of home while I am away.
Other ways to get involved
suggested by Elder Oaks in an address at the Freedom Festival in Provo, Utah in
1994 were:
· The celebration of citizenship, patriotism,
and national holidays and values, such as hundreds of volunteers do so well in
this Freedom Festival.
· Volunteer work in hospitals, museums, public
radio and television, and various arts organizations such as symphony, ballet,
and theater.
· Assisting the great system of private
education that is unique to the United States of America, at the elementary,
secondary, and college/university level.
· Helping to clean up the air, water, and soil
that support us, including such simple yet meaningful tasks as recycling
materials and picking up trash along the highways. (Every few months for FHE,
we take the kids out with garbage bags and pick up all the trash on our road.
This is something my dad did with my brother and I while we were growing up.
· Working with activity and athletic programs
for young people, such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Little League, and Special
Olympics.
· Supporting and helping in the charitable
projects of numerous community, social, and fraternal organizations.
I was very fortunate most of
my life to have traveled all over our nation. N, S, E, W, I’ve been everywhere
man…but Alaska. It’s true 49 states. It created a great love within me, as my
Dad took me to places like the Mt Vernon, Monticello, Civil War battlefields,
the Alamo, Custer’s Last Stand, Mt Rushmore, the Smithsonian, Lincoln Memorial,
the Golden Gate Bridge. Disneyland, Disneyworld, 6 Flags. The shores of Maine.
He also took me to Mexico, Canada, and as a mom of 3 little boys, to Russia,
the Ukraine, and the Black Sea. There were rodeos, truck pulls, Monster trucks,
Superbowl of Motocross, Daytona 500, Nascar races, trade shows, and I’m just
hitting the highlights.
I share that because it gave
me a love for America that I share with my children. I can’t stand in a parade
and see the flag without getting all choked up. Because I have seen the beauty
that is America. I invite you when you dream of trips to Europe and missions in
far away places, and safaris to Africa….to plan to see all that our beautiful
nation has to offer. I’ve never seen the Swiss Alps, but I can’t imagine they
have anything on the Grand Tetons. I am sure the Nile is something else, but
I’ve been down the Mississippi and white water rafted down the Snake River. The
Mohave Desert has to be something to see, but I saw and left as quickly as
possible Death Valley at 115 degrees at 1am.
I’ve also walked where
prophets have walked in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. I’ve walked
the plains and wagon ruts. I’ve pulled handcarts into Martin’s Cove and over
Rocky Ridge. I’ve stood at This is the Place. When you walk the ground where so
many valiant Americans and members of the church have walked and lived and
breathed and died, you gain an appreciation that can’t be gained by reading about
it in books. It’s a totally different experience. Please, as you get older and
have families, share America with them. America’s heritage is wondrous,
amazing, and miraculous.
Finally if I can take just a
few minutes to address voting. There is a great article in the Ensign in 1972
called Political Campaigns and You. It has lots of good information and is
particularly geared toward your age group and making decisions about which
candidate to vote for in an election.
How do you know which
candidate to vote for? We know the church does not support particular
candidates even if one of the Presidential candidates is a member of our faith.
The church is strictly non partisan on this point. Where the church will speak
out is on moral issues of doctrinal importance. Whether you think members of
the same gender should be able to marry, it is a moral issue the church has
addressed, and they ask us to support that issue. In the end, we each have the
choice to support it or go with our own opinion. The church has taken stands on
other similar issues.
Here are some suggestions for
weighing the differences with candidates.
Use REASON instead of
emotion. Especially be aware of fear tactics to sway you.
Use KNOWLEDGE. Go to the
candidates websites and read their plans, stands on issues, etc. Use several
sources of news. Its very easy in our day to fact check. But I’ve found even
with fact checking, the truth can be hard to identify.
Study the ISSUES. Are they
real or contrived? Some may be running around screaming the sky is falling.
Maybe it’s not. Maybe it is. But find out why they are making the claims they
are and whether they have merit.
Look at the candidates IMAGE.
Write a list of your most important character traits or characteristics. If
honesty, ability, experience, patience, determination are important to you,
look for evidence of those traits in your candidate.
Look at their STRENGTHS real
and perceived, and their weaknesses. Is their any validity to claims by their
opponent?
Pay attention to PROMISES. A few presidents back, “read my lips, no new
taxes,” came back to haunt that President. Ask what power the office that is
being sought has, and whether the candidate will be able to carry through with
promises being made.
STANDING on principle or
POSTURING for ego? Can you trust this person to do what he/she says, or is it
all for the bigger show?
ACCOUNTING vs ATTACKING. It’s
expected that there will be an accounting of experience and the course each
candidate claims they will take. If the majority of a campaign is spent
attacking the other candidates, see if you can figure out why. Ask yourself: Is
the charge a legitimate call for accounting or a personal attack? If personal
deficiencies are claimed, would they in actuality hinder the execution of duties,
or are they immaterial to the office sought?
ACTION or REACTION. Be
independent in your thinking and choosing. Base it on what YOU have researched
and found and believe. Ask those you respect their opinion. Use their
information to draw your own conclusions on candidates and issues.
A or B. Make your choice and
then find someone who feels opposite and ask them why. Have a good discussion
NOT argument. Determine if you still feel the same or has your opinion changed.
These last 2 have been very
valuable to me over the years. Our married besties, agreements and disagreements.
Valued opinions. Election discussion on Propositions.
This may seem like a very
TEMPORAL topic for a devotional. But we are told there is nothing really
temporal. That all things are spiritual before the Lord. If we fail to do our
civic duty, to be involved, to realize the value of our American heritage, to
vote for what is good and right, I believe the Lord will one day hold us
accountable.
In Ether chapter 2 vs 10, we
read. "For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands;
wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And
it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that
they are swept off."
I must admit that it has been
easy for me to be involved in my community, to do my civic duty, and to be
involved in a lesser way in politics. I feel very passionate about America. And
I want the freedoms I have enjoyed to continue throughout my life and for my
children and one day grandchildren. I have a burning testimony that we must
educate ourselves in the issues of our day. They have never been more
important. I feel President Benson’s words reminding us of the time when our
Constitution would be on the brink of ruin. I believe that time is now. I don’t
think there is any one person or party to blame. I feel every one of us is to
blame, by not paying attention, by not being more vigilant. My dear young
brothers and sisters. I invite you to become involved. You may be surprised at
how fulfilling it is. I believe the influence of women in our day is of vital
importance. It is an awesome thing to be able to be one of the few to stay home
and rear a family in righteousness. But if we do not insert ourselves into the
national discussion on women and families, the discussion will go on without us
and decisions will be made that may have eternal consequences.
COPIES OF CONSTITUTION.
I love the gospel of Jesus
Christ. I am so thankful to be an American, where we still have many freedoms
others only dream of. Be involved, Let your voice be heard. Take action. Use
your agency to vote. And have a blessed and beautiful day.
The bishop decided YESTERDAY, that he did not want to be the only speaker, and so I agreed to take a few minutes if I could be the youth speaker. J I think it’s because he had an ulterior motive to sit with me on the stand. I don’t mind that. So, I’ll be speaking again next week.
A couple of weeks ago I saw a Conference Challenge. 33 days to conference.
Two I really liked in the last week.
The Atonement Covers All Pain
Kent F Richards
And
Face the Future with Faith
Russell M Nelson
Elder Richards discusses the different kinds of pain we face.
Elder Orson F. Whitney wrote: “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. … It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.”
Much of our suffering is not necessarily our fault. Unexpected events, contradicting or disappointing circumstances, interrupting illness, and even death surround us and penetrate our mortal experience. Additionally, we may suffer afflictions because of the actions of others. Lehi noted that Jacob had “suffered … much sorrow, because of the rudeness of [his] brethren.” Opposition is part of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. We all encounter enough to bring us to an awareness of our Father’s love and of our need for the Savior’s help.
There is another kind of pain for which we are responsible. Spiritual pain lies deep within our souls and can feel unquenchable, even as being racked with an “inexpressible horror,” as Alma described. It comes from our sinful actions and lack of repentance. For this pain too there is a cure that is universal and absolute. It is from the Father, through the Son, and it is for each of us who is willing to do all that is necessary to repent. Christ said, “Will ye not now return unto me … and be converted, that I may heal you?”
Each of us has had our personal trials that bring pain. For me, a good part of my childhood and into early adulthood carried trials that I will suffer the consequences from all of my life. And yet, the Lord in His mercy finds ways to show His love for me that is meaningful. The greatest joy and pain in my life and probably in each of yours has come through relationships. I believe learning to love in all relationships is the primary reason we are here on Earth. I did not experience a loving family in my childhood. But when I was married, I was able to begin the temple work for my family, starting with my mother. Through that experience, as I have continued with family history and temple work, particularly the last few months, the Lord has given me multiple signs that He is not only aware of me, but reminders that He loves me and has a plan to compensate me for the family circumstances I experienced. Not only that, he planted a deep and abiding testimony in me, so that I would fight to make choices that bring me the blessings I experience today. While I continue to have sadness at times over my early family life, my current family life has blessed me beyond anything I could have hoped for. And I am eternally grateful for these circumstances.
There is a tendency, and I fight it too, to become discouraged when there are heavy trials. When we successfully overcome trials through the atonement, we learn that we can have faith in the future. This is not what satan wants. He wants us to become so mired in the sadness, anger, and negative experiences that we lose hope and give up. We are then thwarted in our progress and he has won.
We recently received a letter from Chris expressing some discouragement, doubt, and fear. He mentioned satan several times. My response to him was
“Satan doesn't want you to succeed, but the LORD DOES. I think that is a heavier weight. You can't fail with Him on your side. Quit bringing up satan so much. Just don't worry about him. Focus on the Lord and His strength and he will fade in the distance. As long as you fear him, he gains strength. Give him no power by giving him no thought.”
Of course we need to be aware of satan and his lies and methods, but I truly do believe that focusing on our Savior and what His atonement can do in every situation, is the real key to overcoming our pain and fears.
Along with the atonement, Elder Nelson tells us “truth, covenants, and ordinances enable us to overcome fear and face the future with faith!” He explains that our faith now becomes a part of our posterity’s faith later. Just like the pioneers are an inspiration for us, whether we had one as an ancestor or not. If we are recording our experiences, our situations can become inspiration for others now and many years in the future.
While Elder Nelson suggests many things we can teach our children to strengthen their faith, I propose that we review them as adults to increase our own faith. He uses the words, teach your children. I will use the words, we increase our faith.
We should increase our faith in our identity as a child of God. We are each a child of God and so is the person next to us, and every person we like, and every person we dislike. We are all children of the Most High God. Shouldn’t we remember that as we interact with all those we come in contact with?
We should increase our faith in the temporary nature of our earthly lives. It’s too easy to get caught up in trivial matters, blow things out of proportion, and insist that every experience is as important as the next. I often ask myself in my weaker moments when I want to give in to evil thoughts and feelings, will this matter in five years? Usually the answer is no and makes it easier to let go of. You could also ask, if I just lost my sister/child/best friend/spouse/parent, would this matter to me at all? I think 98% of the time, the answer would be no.
We should increase our faith in the importance of keeping all the commandments and not what Elder Nelson terms the “cafeteria approach to obedience.” What good does it do to come to church every Sunday and ignore loving our neighbor as ourselves? How can we attend the temple each week or month and judge others or refuse to forgive others or ourselves? The Lord requires us to keep all of His commandments and because that is impossible without the atonement, we must use it when we fall short.
We should increase our faith by learning obedience provides spiritual and physical protection. That’s a talk all in and of itself.
We should increase our faith by paying our tithing so that we have complete faith that there is always enough and the Lord will open the windows of heaven to us. Not to mention Elder Nelson’s reminder that it will protect us from “the day of vengeance and burning.”
We should increase our faith by praying with an eternal perspective. The promises he reminds us of in this talk on prayer alone are worth reading the talk. I’d encourage you to read it again if you have not.
Why do we need such resilient faith? Because difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord “shall suffer persecution.” That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives.
I have some dear friends in Utah. They are a faithful family. They do their best to keep the commandments. Last fall the husband was released after faithfully serving five years as bishop. Almost from the time he began his service as bishop, the challenges began. Financial, emotional, and physical burdens increased on a monthly basis. Some of the ward members began lovingly, sadly calling him Bishop Job. The burden was terrible for them. And every time she shared a new challenge I marveled at the weight of it all and their continued determination to be faithful. I know few people who have had the number of trials in the time frame and under the circumstances they did. I think there were times they felt utterly alone. They felt their prayers were not heard. But they continued to pray. They increased their temple attendance. They remained true and faithful. Slowly, they are coming out of the challenges they continue to face. Drastic measures have improved his health. He found a good job. Other dreams they have are beginning to come into view. They know the Lord is with them. And they have borne their trials as cheerfully as humanly possible.
What is to be their reward for their faithfulness? What is our reward when we remain faithful? Elder Nelson says the blessings of the Priesthood
“can change the circumstances of your lives, in matters such as health, companionship of the Holy Ghost, personal relationships, and opportunities for the future. The power and authority of this priesthood holds the keys to all spiritual blessings of the Church.”
He also reminds us:
“rewards come not only hereafter. Many blessings will be yours in this life, among your children and grandchildren. You faithful Saints do not have to fight life’s battles alone. Think of that! The Lord declared, “I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” Later came this promise to His faithful people: “I, the Lord, would fight their battles, and their children’s battles, and their children’s children’s, … to the third and fourth generation.”
And finally President Monson’s witness:
“I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.”
I am so grateful for the Atonement and how it covers all my pain and how faith in the atonement can help me to have hope in the future.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to speak today. I have never taken advantage of the opportunity to study for almost three weeks, the atonement and its effects. It has been a great blessing and I assure you I have been tremendously blessed to be able to study and understand it a bit more. It is impossible for me to cover or give a good explanation with the few minutes that I have. And I am determined to give Bret plenty of time on his topic.
The Bishop simply asked us to speak about Easter. Well, that’s actually a pretty broad topic when you consider that it entails the atonement of Christ, His actual death, and resurrection. I felt very strongly from the beginning that I should focus my talk on sin and repentance, but that took me in all kinds of directions and it has been very difficult to put my thoughts together and so I hope your prayers will be with me.
Before I start, I want to ask a rhetorical question that a BYU professor used to ask his classes. Do you want the Lord to be fair when you leave this life and enter His presence? Just think about that, and I’ll come back to it.
Long ago there was a Fall. Adam and Eve transgressed the law and were cut off temporally and spiritually from our Heavenly Father. The temporal separation falls upon all of us. We are separated when we are born and hope to return to Him when we die. Spiritually, we are not responsible for Adam’s sins, but we cut ourselves off each day in the decisions we make. We have been commanded to be perfect and yet it is a commandment that is impossible to fulfill. And even if we live a near perfect life, the scriptures tell us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And near perfection is not what is required, perfection in required.
The Book of Mormon does a beautiful job of explaining all the facets of the atonement including sin, repentance, the law, mercy, justice, redemption. In studying Alma 32-42, there are many gems that teach us exactly how it all works. I believe most of us operate on the assumption that mercy will win out in the end, and we tend to dismiss the “little sins” that do so easily beset us. I can assure you that mercy does not automatically win out. We must repent or pay for every sin we commit. Even the ones we have forgotten. No unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God. We cannot be filthy and be in His presence.
President Kimball has said: “There are many people who seem to rely solely on the Lord’s mercy rather than on accomplishing their own repentance. … The Lord may temper justice with mercy, but he will never supplant it. Mercy can never replace justice. God is merciful, but he is also just.” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, Bookcraft, 1969, p. 358.)
So, for example, I am wearing this beautiful white suit. Well, I like it. And suppose it represents our soul. It’s nice and white. We step out of the waters of baptism clean and pure. And then we walk back into life. (Place red spots with each one) We tell a little white lie. We get angry at a relative. We steal something. We gossip behind someone’s back. We revert to an old habit—swearing? Alcohol? Worse? There are those who haven’t aligned themselves with any particular church but have a basic understanding of right and wrong and maybe they have a drug problem. They never keep the Sabbath. Some of them have even murdered. You can see that if we continue on this way, it won’t be long until we are completely covered in our sins. And technically, it really doesn’t matter how large or small they are. Except that the payment for some may be quite high and impossible actually to pay. How do you restore a person’s reputation, or a person’s chastity or a person’s life? If we forget to repent for one sin, we are not spotless and cannot return to our Father. Repentance helps us, it is some of the works that we can do to show our Father we have a contrite heart, but it won’t take us all the way.
The scriptures are very clear that justice is a divine attribute. When laws are broken, someone has to pay. You can pay, but even when you do, it can at times not be enough. And there are all the thou shalts, I haven’t even covered and don’t have time to. What about if we die before we repent, where are we left?
“There is a sad note of finality in that last statement. It matches the words of Samuel the Lamanite to those who would procrastinate the day of their salvation-‘it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure’ (Hel. 13:38); and it recalls those of Mormon relative to his wicked contemporaries-‘the sorrowing of the damned.’ (Morm. 2:13.)“The key factor in such a situation is the withdrawal of the Lord's Spirit. In the final battle days of the Jaredites, ‘the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and Satan had full power over the hearts of the people’ (Eth. 15:19.)” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 118) Spencer W Kimball
We either belong to the Lord, or we belong to Satan.
One day last Fall, I went to pick up Bret from the Institute and as I turned at the college, I noticed a policeman behind me. You know the feeling. Oh no, what did I do? I was nervous as I turned into the parking lot and he drove on. Whew! You know that feeling too. But, no as I pulled into a space, right in front of the building as class was letting out, he came in another entrance parked askew behind me and turned on the lights. What did I do? What could I do? I was really embarrassed. Here are all these students, and there is Brother Norton’s wife.
He asked me for my documents and commented that my tags were expired. And immediately, I knew what had happened and I just kept thinking it’s not my fault. Remember two years ago, many of us had a change of address? And the PO told us after Dec they were not going to deliver mis-addressed mail. You try to think of everyone you can to notify, but the MVD is not on my Cmas card list. And I forgot. He kindly wrote me up for not having it in my possession instead of not having it at all. You think I would have learned as a previous vehicle had the same problem only we caught it before we were caught. Well, I am a busy CEO of a small corporation and I don’t have a secretary. That is my excuse. I purchased my tags the next day. I had to come back to Pima and pay a fine and he told me he thought the judge would be lenient.
So, I paid the fine? Wrong! I forgot to go back. Then I get a notice in the mail that says I now have fines on top of the original for over $500 and I felt sick. I cried, I was angry, I said some not very nice things about the post office. I called the judge and pleaded for mercy and he said to come in and we would take care of it. So, I go see him and he asks me if I want to pay the fine???? No. Well, you can come to court if you want. OK, I will plead my very sad story and he will give me mercy. Long story short, there was mercy. He didn’t make me pay the $500, but there was also justice. I had to pay the original fine which he knocked off about $50. There is a law in Az. You must have current tags. No one cares if the post office changed your address and the MVD is not on your Cmas list. The judge actually told me he liked being known as a mean judge, which really, he was not mean. He was the judge. And though he had the power to extend a little mercy, he could not just sweep away the law for me. I broke it. The law required justice and that a fine be paid.
Let me ask you the question again. Do you still want the Lord to be fair? I don’t. I want mercy. I want Him to sweep away the law. I want someone to pay the fine for me. In a more serious situation, the law could require jail time. I don’t want to go to jail. I want someone to pay the price. There is at least a billion dollar ransom on my head, and on each of yours. Satan wants to have us. He knows the law requires justice. And he wants justice to be paid. Maybe each day, if we do our very best, we can have a $100 day. But that’s being perfect, so realistically maybe we have a $50 day. If we live 75 years at $50 a day we pay back not quite 1 ½ million dollars. And that is a good day. We did our visiting teaching, we took care of a sick child, we read our scriptures and we didn’t get angry all day. Well, all those things are good. But the ransom is 1 BILLION dollars. There are 1000 millions in a billion. We’d have to live 75,000 yrs to pay it back that way.
I don’t know about you, but I am feeling a little overwhelmed.
Repentance is part of the answer.
In conference two weeks ago, Elder Richard Hinckley said:
I will speak briefly of the principle of repentance. How grateful I am for the understanding we have of this great principle. It is not a harsh principle, as I thought when I was a boy. It is kind and merciful. The Hebrew root of the word means, simply, "to turn,"1 or to return, to God. Jehovah pled with the children of Israel: "Return . . . and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful . . . and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God."2 When we acknowledge our sins, confess them and forsake them, and turn to God, He will forgive us.
I am going to briefly address the subject of mercy. I was listening to a talk last night by Gerald Lund. It was given at a BYU symposium on Christ. If you have internet access, I would encourage you to go to byutv.org and download this talk. It is an hour and ten minutes about the grace and mercy of Christ. He pointed out three scriptures in the Book of Mormon that really touched me. In the beginning chapter. 1 Ne 1:20.
But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender cmercies• of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of ddeliverance.
At the end. Moroni, 10:3
Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how amerciful• the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and bponder• it in your chearts•.
And nearly in the middle, this one that I read last week thanks to Jennifer Lunt’s testimony in RS. I think it is now one of my favorite scriptures. Alma 34:16
These scriptures are very comforting to me and show the tenderness of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ toward us. We can imagine slightly how they must feel as we love our own children. As infants, we put so much time and effort and love. They did not do anything to earn it. Likewise we have done nothing to deserve the love of our Father and His son. They grant us these tender mercies because they love us, They want us to return home, they want us to experience the joys of living with them and our families again.
I so enjoyed all that Alma chapters 34 and 42 had to teach. And lest any of you should still be feeling as if things are a little hopeless, please turn to Alma 34: 31.
Yea, I would that ye would come forth and aharden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the bday• of your csalvation•; and therefore, if ye will repent and dharden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.
If we will soften our hearts and realize that now, today is the day our salvation, if we will repent, we can immediately right now bring the plan or redemption to ourselves.There is so much more to ponder and understand. I would encourage you to use your topical guide and read such topics as law, justice, mercy, sin, repentance, forgiveness. Go on the church website and read old conference talks. This past conference there were several talks on these subjects.
I’d like to close with a quote by Elder Holland from this months General Conference.
This reliance upon the merciful nature of God is at the very center of the gospel Christ taught. I testify that the Savior’s Atonement lifts from us not only the burden of our sins but also the burden of our disappointments and sorrows, our heartaches and our despair.14 From the beginning, trust in such help was to give us both a reason and a way to improve, an incentive to lay down our burdens and take up our salvation. There can and will be plenty of difficulties in life. Nevertheless, the soul that comes unto Christ, who knows His voice and strives to do as He did, finds a strength, as the hymn says, "beyond [his] own."15 The Savior reminds us that He has "graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands."16 Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion and Atonement, I promise you He is not going to turn His back on us now. When He says to the poor in spirit, "Come unto me," He means He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows it because He has walked it. He knows the way because He is the way. Elder Holland 4/06
I am so grateful that the ransom on my head has been paid, and that I only need to turn to the Savior and His grace is sufficient for me.
Anchoring our Souls in Individual Worth
this talk goes with this post
Good afternoon my dear young sisters. I am so grateful to stand before you today for my own Personal Progress Value Project. I appreciate very much that the YW Pres and Stake Pres allowed me to be included in camp. I have a nervous prayer in my heart, that the things I have prepared for you today will be carried to your hearts by the Spirit and will teach you exactly what you need to know for yourself. I know he can do that. And I hope you’ll all say a quick little prayer for me that I can be led by the Spirit.
As I look out into each of your faces, I see that each and every one of you, Young Women and Women alike are different. There are no two single people exactly the same on the earth. Even identical twins are very different. Because even with the same DNA, they each have their own experiences. We may share some similar characteristics, but there are not two people in all the earth who are exactly the same. I think that is a pretty special thing. As a mother, I have found it to be true in my children. They are all growing up in the same household, but they have come with their own strengths and talents and experiences. Their teaching has been mostly the same, but has changed over time. Because I know a lot more as a mom of 7 than I ever did as a mom of 1 or 2 or 3.
In a strange way, we are somewhat like snowflakes. With it being so hot and there being a fire that has kept us from camp, probably the last thing most of us are thinking about is snow. But, I am sure you all have heard that no two snowflakes are alike. Where does that even come from? There was a man named Wilson Bentley, who became known as Snowflake Bentley because of his many years of studying and photographing snowflakes. Over his lifetime, he took 5000 pictures of individual snowflakes. And none of them were exactly the same. He did this even when it took him over a year before he could figure out exactly how to take the pictures.
That first picture was taken back in 1885. His careful observation over many years, not only led to some beautiful pictures of snowflakes, and each one of you will get one, but he learned and shared a lot scientifically with the world about his discoveries about weather. By looking at a snowflake, he could even tell what kind of storm had produced it. I am going to hand out pictures of the actual snowflakes for you to pass around.
See the SNOWFLAKE Bentley website.
So what do snowflakes have to do with us anyway?
The scriptures tell us there are two great commandments. Who can tell me what the first one is? (Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind). Your head, your heart, and your soul which is made of your body and your spirit. How do you think you would feel if you loved God with all of your heart, mind, and soul?
What is the second one? (Love thy neighbor as thyself).
Love thy neighbor as who? Thyself. So, it’s ok to love yourself? How do you do that? And where it starts is realizing your great worth. It’s easy to love other people without loving yourself, when other people are being nice. But how easy is it to love other people if you don’t love yourself when everyone seems to be against you? We are commanded to love and forgive everyone, so we can’t blame the way we feel on others actions against us. Heavenly Father helps us to forgive when it is hard. Judging others, hating others, is a sin, just as much as the reason you may judge or hate someone. It is my hope by the time I am finished speaking today, you will have some ideas about how to do love yourself so you can better love others.
Can anyone tell me the difference between Divine Nature and Individual Worth?
The scriptures are full of passages telling us that we are literally children of God. I can hardly wrap my mind around that. Can you? They also tell us that we are made in His image. We are commanded to be perfect and we can be joint heirs with Christ. Having a divine nature means that we inherit every single quality that God has, and it is there for us to develop and become like Him. There is an affirmation that goes along with the value Divine Nature. We are going to talk more about affirmations later. It says:
“I have inherited divine qualities, which I will strive to develop.”
Why is having a divine nature, so important to know?
I remember in the Fall of 1995, sitting in a congregation of women when we first heard the Proclamation on the Family. Before it was read to us by Pres Hinckley, he said,
“With so much of sophistry (does anyone know what sophistry is?) that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and forewarn. In furtherance of this we of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles now issue a proclamation to the Church and to the world as a declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family which the prophets, seers, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history.”
Why did he say the Proclamation was so important? The same reasons exist for why we need to understand our divine nature and individual worth. The Proclamation says of these two values:
“All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.”
Destiny. What is your destiny?
Sister Julie Beck said:
“You are treasured children of the promise. If you will keep the Lord’s statutes and commandments and hearken to His voice, He has promised that He will make you high above the nations in name and honor and praise.”
President Faust said:
“A conviction that you are a daughter of God gives you a feeling of comfort in your self-worth. It means that you can find strength in the balm of Christ. It will help you meet the heartaches and challenges with faith and serenity.”
Elder Nelson said:
“We are to be creators in our own right—builders of an individual faith in God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and faith in His Church. We are to build families and be sealed in holy temples. We are to build the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. We are to prepare for our own divine destiny—glory, immortality, and eternal lives. These supernal blessings can all be ours, through our faithfulness.”
And the Young Women’s Theme hints at our destiny:
We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.
All of that put together = HAPPINESS. That is why you are here. Joseph Smith said,
"Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God." There is your formula for happiness.
What is another name for the Plan of Salvation? The Great Plan of Happiness. Don’t let anyone tell you that you were sent here for trials, to suffer, to be tested. That is certainly a small part of life and through those things and the opposition we face, we are able to experience happiness more fully, but Joseph Smith said happiness is the OBJECT and DESIGN of our existence. And I believe him. I’d rather be happy than suffer anyway. J
Elder Scott said:
The challenges you face, the growth experiences you encounter, are intended to be temporary scenes played out on the stage of a life of continuing peace and happiness. Sadness, heartache, and disappointment are events in life. It is not intended that they be the substance of life. I do not minimize how hard some of these events can be. When the lesson you are to learn is very important, trials can extend over a long period of time, but they should not be allowed to become the confining focus of everything you do. Your life can and should be wondrously rewarding. It is your understanding and application of the laws of God that will give your life glorious purpose as you ascend and conquer the difficulties of life. That perspective keeps challenges confined to their proper place—stepping-stones to further growth and attainment.
I want to tell you a couple of stories. And they are being very shortened. Here is my story in a nutshell. I was born to two parents and I had an older brother. When I was 3 or 4, they were baptized into the church. By the time I was 5, my parents were separated and going through a divorce, because of signs of abuse, my dad took me and my brother and we moved far away. I grew up without my mom, but with a loving aunt and grandma that helped me when they could. We were not active in the church. I have experienced abuse in my life. As a teenager, I chose to become active in the church. I went away to college and decided to reconnect with my mom. There were some brief happy moments with her before she took her life when I was 19.
My life up to that point had happy moments. I knew my family loved me. I knew the church was true. But, I knew there were a lot of things missing in my life. And my mother’s death put a great big exclamation point on that thought. I knew from the joy I found in the church, that that was what I wanted more of. I learned from my friends and leaders, that I should marry a worthy priesthood holder, preferably who had served a mission. I knew I should be married in the temple. I knew I wanted to be a wife and mother. But, I really deep down inside did not know why. I knew it was the right thing and I knew I wanted to do the right thing. I believed I would be happier, but I really did not understand what those decisions would really do for me.
Now that I have a family, I’ve been married in the temple, I have a faithful husband, and I’ve seen the blows life can deal you, I understand what those decisions have done for me. I understand that nothing the world has to offer can fill the void in the loss of a child. When a flood sweeps through a community and takes 3 children from one family, nothing the world has to offer can make that better. I understand that when there are tragic accidents that take a young teen girl who is out playing on a 4 wheeler, that NOTHING the world has to offer can make that better. I understand that when a young boy is playing in his family weight room and is crushed to death by weights, that NOTHING the world has to offer can make that better. I understand that when unexpected things like fire take everything a person owns but their family or even including their family, NOTHING the world has to offer can make that better. I understand that when a person is used and abused, mistreated or made fun of, NOTHING the world has to offer can make it better.
It doesn’t matter if it is something very small or something very tragic, NOTHING the world has to offer can make these things better. No amount of money, or fame, or fortune, or power, or addiction, or cursing, or self-loathing can make the trials of life better. Only living the Great Plan of Happiness, can make those things any better. And even with the gospel, all of these things which have happened to people I know, are difficult to get through. But with the gospel, we can get through them and find peace and the return of happiness.
I loved what Elder Holland said to us about trials when he came to our Stake Conference. He referred to the high seas, the wind and the waves. He said the worst thing we can say is, “God doesn’t love me and the Church isn’t true.” The last thing we should do, is a half gainer over the side and bail out. He said the first rule is to STAY IN THE BOAT! It will get calm. The Master can calm the storm. He is in the same storm, but is only sleeping. We need to stay with Him in the boat. Christ will bring our ship into port. He will be the anchor for our souls.
I testify that those words are true. I can name several times in my life, when I thought anything would be better than the pain I was experiencing around a relationship, a situation, or a condition. There are times when I have wanted to pull a half gainer out of the boat, but in the end, stuck it out, and found that the Master was there calming the storm. And perspective always allows us to see, that we can survive, we almost always survive, and we are usually better for it, if we rely on the merits of the Savior.
Tell about my friend who made sad decisions because of circumstances and who's life was cut short. Tell about Bret's friend who did the same thing.
So, on to Individual Worth.
The affirmation that goes along with the value of Individual Worth is:
I am of infinite worth with my own divine mission, which I will strive to fulfill.
How is Individual Worth different than Divine Nature? Is your worth tied to how beautiful you are? What you accomplish? Who your parents are? How much money you have? Why do you think it is so important for you to understand your individual worth? If you understand your worth, what can you accomplish? If Satan can deceive you into thinking you are not of worth, what might happen?
Elder Holland said:
“I have often told young people that for the privilege of living in such a time they (we) have a responsibility that has never come in exactly this way to any other dispensation of Church members. We are the people in the eternal scheme of things who must prepare the Church of the Lamb for the arrival of the Lamb. No earlier people in ancient days ever had that assignment. What a tremendous responsibility!
That is a pretty important responsibility, don’t you think? All the prophets through all of time have looked forward to this time, this dispensation, and these last generations. Speaking of our Savior, I cannot think of better evidence of your divine worth than the very fact that he sacrificed himself for each and every one of us. Why? Because he loved us and we were worth it. He took our sins, our griefs, and sorrow, every disappointment, and every experience. He faced Satan, fought our battle, and ransomed us from darkness, if we simply repent and trust him. As we come to know Him, we really do come to know our worth. As we seek after His character, our own character is strengthened.
You are young women of great faith. You brought your faith with you when you came to the earth. Alma teaches us that in the premortal realms you exhibited “exceeding faith and good works.” 8 You fought with your faith and testimony to defend the plan that was presented by God. You knew the plan was good, and you knew that the Savior would do what He said He would do—because you knew Him! You stood with Him, and you were eager for your opportunity to come to earth. You knew what was going to be required of you. You knew it would be difficult, and yet you were confident not only that you could accomplish your divine mission but that you could make a difference.,,
And now you are here to do what you have been reserved and prepared to do. As I look out at you tonight, I wonder if this is what Helaman’s stripling warriors’ girlfriends must have looked like! No wonder Satan has increased the intensity of his attacks on your identity and virtue. If you can be dismayed, discouraged, distracted, delayed, or disqualified from being worthy to receive the guidance of the Holy Ghost or to enter the Lord’s holy temple, he wins.
Young women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, remember who you are! You are elect. You are daughters of God. You cannot be a generation of young women who are content to fit in. You must have the courage to stand out, to “arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations.” 10 The world would have you believe that you are not significant—that you are out of fashion and out of touch. The world calls to you with unrelenting, noisy voices to “live it up,” “try everything,” “experiment and be happy.” Conversely, the Holy Ghost whispers and the Lord invites you to “walk in the paths of virtue,” “lay aside the things of this world,” “and cleave unto [your] covenants.” 11
I have always loved the story of the son of King Louis XVI of France because he had an unshakable knowledge of his identity. As a young man, he was kidnapped by evil men who had dethroned his father, the king. These men knew that if they could destroy him morally, he would not be heir to the throne. For six months they subjected him to every vile thing life had to offer, and yet he never yielded under pressure. This puzzled his captors, and after doing everything they could think of, they asked him why he had such great moral strength. His reply was simple. He said, “I cannot do what you ask, for I was born to be a king.” 12
Like the king’s son, each of you has inherited a royal birthright. Each of you has a divine heritage. “You are literally the royal daughters of our Father in Heaven.” 13 Each of you was born to be a queen.
My young sisters. What if you believed you were a queen? And what if every time Satan whispered, nobody loves you, nobody is watching, no one will know, it will feel good, taste good, be fun….what if every time you heard those voices, you said, “I was born to be a queen. You have no power over me?”
(It's after lunch. We're droopy. Everyone stand and repeat with me, "I am AWESOME!!!)
In James 1: vs
17Every agood bgift and every perfect cgift is from above, and dcometh down from the Father of elights, with whom is no fvariableness, neither shadow of turning.
It is my belief that each of you has come from above as a gift to this world. You are daughters of a King. He has given you each gifts and talents to bless this world with, your world around you. You are a princess with a royal heritage and a divine destiny.
For a moment I would like you to imagine any baby you know. A brother or sister, niece or nephew, or a baby in your family or ward. Whatever age you have pictured, up to a toddler who can walk, picture that baby doing something naughty. Maybe he or she has picked up something and broken it. Maybe he is doing something he was told not to do. Maybe she is crying inconsolably. As you think of that baby doing something her parent would not want her to do, do you think any less of that baby? Should he be punished forever for the thing he did? Would you withhold your love from that baby who has made that mistake? No, you would not. Now, while worth and worthiness are completely different, the point I am trying to make is that you see and love that baby no matter what it does. It is the same thing with our Heavenly Father’s love for you.
In Romans we are told:
38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to aseparate us from the blove of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our choices can change our worthiness, and separate us, but nothing else can. God’s love for you is eternal.
Going back to our baby. Now consider you are married and you are the mother of that baby. Every day, day in and day out, you change diapers, put bandaids on knees, dress and undress, wash clothes, fix meals, wipe away tears, take to school, support in activities, teach them principles of the gospel, pray, read scriptures, help them with homework, and on and on, until they are old enough to go out into the world. And this wonderful child who you love with all your heart is now going to go out into the world and be a light. Hopefully. Can you see how you might feel about that child and sending him or her out to fulfill his mission? This is how our Heavenly Father feels about us. We are His gifts. He has sent us on our way to learn and grow and bless the lives of others.
It has taken me almost all of my life to understand all of that I just spoke about. I knew some of these things in my head, but it wasn’t until a few years ago, when I came across an affirmation in a book, that it really finally connected with me. The affirmation was, “I am God’s gift to the world.” The affirmation is meant as a statement of humility, not a declaration of cockiness. And that is the real heart of the message I want to share with you today. Each of you, is God’s gift to the world.
You are God’s gift to the world.
What can we do to internalize that we are of infinite worth, that we are a princess, that we are God’s gift to the world?
The youth have recently been counseled to do three things to increase their faith by Sister Dalton. This will also help you retain your feelings of individual worth. 1) Pray morning and night. 2) Read the Book of Mormon. 3) Smile, remembering you are a beloved daughter of God. I will add 4) Be aware and follow the standards in the Strength of Youth.
The last three things I am going to share, are a few more tools that can help you be happy and remember your individual worth.
One of the greatest things we can do to increase how we feel about ourselves is to change our thoughts. No matter what we experience every day, no matter how we feel, we can choose the thoughts we think. We think over 70,000 thoughts every day. And studies show that the majority of those thoughts are negative. Why do you think that is? I think the main reason is because we don’t do much consciously to control or focus the way we think.
I started noticing and watching my thoughts on purpose about 5 years ago. I did not like the way I felt about myself. I didn’t like me at all. I read this little book called As a Man Thinketh, which you can find for free online. It is very short, and was written over a 100 years ago. This little book is sometimes quoted in General Conference and the Ensign. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes.
Mr Allen says: Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this- that man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.
Can how you think do all that?
He also compares our thoughts to a garden: MAN'S mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.
Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts.
What kind of garden are we planting, or are we letting our mind turn into a weed patch? Alma expressed it similarly, “Now, we will compare the word (or thoughts) unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” (Alma 32:28.)
I have a garden in wading pools. One year I cleaned all the dead plants out and then planted nothing. The weed seeds blew in and filled the pool with weeds. If we do not plant good things in our minds, the weed seeds WILL come in and take over.
Not only do we have to watch what we think ourselves, Elder Packer says we have to watch out for other influences.
Be ever on guard lest you be deceived by inspiration from an unworthy source. You can be given false spiritual messages. There are counterfeit spirits just as there are counterfeit angels. (See Moro. 7:17.) Be careful lest you be deceived, for the devil may come disguised as an angel of light.
The spiritual part of us and the emotional part of us are so closely linked that is possible to mistake an emotional impulse for something spiritual. We occasionally find people who receive what they assume to be spiritual promptings from God, when those promptings are either centered in the emotions or are from the adversary.
So what do you do? What can you do?
I have this little method I call erase and replace. It’s for getting rid of the little voices in my head. I hope I am not the ONLY one that has little voices in my head! I actually think they are outside my head whispering to me, but I hear them inside my head. So, you drop your backpack in the hall at school and all of its contents go flying. What does the little voice in your head say? “You are the biggest klutz! You are so stupid. Oh look, everyone is looking at you, they think you are a klutz too.”
This is where you say in a Valley Girl voice, “Excuse me? Excuse me, are you talking to ME????? I’ll have you know I am a queen. In fact, the only reason I am picking this stuff up myself is because my servants are busy doing other things for me. I am awesome! I am a queen, and if you don’t take a hike, I’m going to have your head!”
(Stand. I am AWESOME!!!)
If you play it’s more fun. Whenever I head the little voice, I would just say the opposite. Something like, “yes, sometimes I am klutzy, but I am not a klutz. I’m a daughter of God, AND I’m AMAZING!!!”
So step one is to start noticing your thoughts. Specifically about yourself, but also about others and situations. Any time you hear, You are ___________ or I am ____________, pay attention. Next, you acknowledge the thought. Make it as fun as you want. And then you reverse it. If the thought or voice says, you are dumb. You say, “I am not dumb, I am smart, and I am AWESOME!” If it says, you’ll never be anything. You say, “ha! I am already a queen. I can do or be whatever I want, and you certainly can’t stop me! Oh, and I am AWESOME!” Anything that goes in the blank behind you are or I am, you argue back with it. It can actually be quite fun, because the voice loses and YOU WIN!!! If you want to go into super stealth mode, keep a journal of those negative thoughts. It exposes them.
Guess what happens after a couple of months of doing this? The voices get very quiet about YOU and go away. Then they shift into other modes. But you just use the same method.
Elder Ballard said, I believe in the principle that you ought to act “as if” you were the person you would like to become. As you do that, you will grow into that kind of person. Ultimately your very actions, your attitude, will lead you into being the kind of person that you want to be. George Bernard Shaw said: “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. People who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”
An affirmation is a validation or belief stated in a positive way. Here are a few examples you may have heard.
We are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us.
We will stand as witness of God.
We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity.
Do these sound familiar?
I noticed while reading the Family Proclamation, The Relief Society Declaration, and The Young Women’s Theme, that much of them were written in the form of affirmations. And what did Elder Ballard say? Act AS IF. So, you girls stand every week and recite the YW theme, does it mean anything to you. I am sure on some days it does, and I am sure it means more at some times than others. But if you really accepted those things, and acted on those things, the world would clear the way for you. You would be unstoppable. And that is why we say it every week.
So, I had an idea to write my very own Personal Proclamation, and we are going to do that. Your Personal Proclamation is your statements in a positive way (AS IF) of the person you want to be. When we recite the theme, we know we aren’t perfect in all of those things, but that is a vision or goal of what we want to be. These are statements of who you are and who you want to become, to help you focus on those things that are most important and of most worth. You can take statements from your patriarchal blessing and incorporate them into your Pers Procl. You can take your favorite scriptures and change them into statements.
I am going to read you a few lines from mine, which I often tweak or change according to what I need or want to be. These are really personal, but this is the person I want to be.
1- I am a precious daughter of God (who loves me and I love Him) and my life has meaning, purpose, and direction.
2- I create the life I want through a happy marriage, supportive friendships, and through my role as a joyful mother of children. I love having fun with family and friends.
3- I am spiritually strong through prayer, scripture study, great literary works, and responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
4- I am faithful, I am joyful, I am peaceful, I am pure of heart, and I am compassionate.
10- I enjoy vibrant physical health, positive emotions, wonderful relationships, and meaningful spiritual experiences. I am joyful, I am healthy, I am happy, I am prosperous, I am generous.
11- I am grateful in ALL things.
That’s only about half of mine. Give out paper and guide them through writing their own.
(Stand. I am AWESOME!!!)
The last thing I want to touch on before I close is gratitude. This one principle has changed my life pretty dramatically. Along with changing my thoughts, it has helped me to change from a pessimistic person to an optimistic person. It has helped me to change from being negative to being positive. It has helped me to stop worrying about myself and reaching out to others and their troubles. It has helped me to stop blaming others and take responsibility for myself. It helps me count my blessings. It has helped me to look for good in every situation. Am I perfect at it? Not yet.
Elder Robert D Hales says, “Gratitude is a state of appreciation, an act of thanksgiving, which causes us to be humble because we recognize an act of kindness, service, or caring from someone else which lifts us and strengthens us.
Ingratitude is the attitude of being unaware or not recognizing when someone has assisted us or helped us or, even worse, when we know we have been helped and have not given thanks privately or publicly.”
You cannot find the word gratitude in the scriptures. It is expressed as thanksgiving. In fact thank offerings were a part of ancient temple practices. It is very important to express gratitude. In fact, in
D&C 59: 21 says, And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.
God wants us to be thankful in how many things? All things.
Tell the flood story. (My washer overflowed and all the water ran down into our Master bedroom and destroyed the entire room.) I laughed and sang Rain drops are falling on my head. Two days after earthquake in Haiti.
I have kept on and off the last five years, a gratitude journal. They are saved on my computer, I have a gratitude account online. There are lots of ways to do it. You could just write be grateful on your bathroom mirror and while you get ready each day, think of the things you are grateful for. I have all kinds of things written on the border of my mirror and one of them is, “I am thankful for…”
I decided a few weeks ago to make it more regular and have made it a part of my personal blog. Each day I choose something to be thankful for. My husband often asks me at the end of the day, what were you thankful for today. Every day, I make a post, sometimes short, sometimes long. The last two days only said Girl’s Camp. And sleeping under the stars. You can have a piece of paper that you simply keep a list of everything you LOVE, are thankful for, or grateful for.
What are you thankful for? How does it make you FEEL when you think about those things? (Remember how you felt when you listen to the little voices?)
Let me tell you what I am thankful for now.
Honorable, faithful husband. 7 beautiful healthy children. Older sons who are setting the examples for their younger siblings by serving missions. A home. Being a member of the church. Living in this community with wonderful people. My health. Knowing that I am a daughter of God and that no matter whether I AM worthy of His blessings, He knows me, loves me, and has a plan for me.
The Snowflake Man said:
”Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind."
Sisters, you are like the beautiful snowflakes I passed around. There is a loving Heavenly Father who knows each and every one of you. You are a thing of beauty. It is a shame when you do not understand that and show your beauty so that others can appreciate it. You are a masterpiece of design like no others. By realizing your individual worth, you will not leave without a record. Others will be lifted by what you have done and remember you.
Due to multiple technical difficulties this week, the bookmark I was making for you did not happen. I will make sure they happen and I will have one of those snowflake pictures for each of you on it. With this poem:
Snowflake Angels
by R.Fogle
Snowflakes are a gift from God
that float on Angels wings,
delighting all who see them
with the beauty that they bring.
They glow with crystal brilliance
that comes from God alone,
then join to make a snowman
with a newness all it's own.
And like each perfect snowflake,
we, too, were made to be
a wonderful example
of God's creativity.
So when you see a snowflake,
all pure and glistening white,
may you also be reminded
you are precious in God's sight.
President Benson said:
"We must not lose hope. Hope is an anchor to the souls of men. Satan would have us cast away that anchor. In this way he can bring discouragement and surrender. But we must not lose hope. The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him. Though we may see that we have far to go on the road to perfection, we must not give up hope."
Finally, in closing, Sister Sheri Dew said: (and it applies to young women too)
"The women of the Church are the hope of the world precisely because it is not possible to limit the influence of a woman of God who is filled with the pure love of Christ. For that matter, the same is true of men. It is not possible to limit the influence of a man of God who bears the holy priesthood and who is filled with the pure love of Christ.
Satan knows this, and he hates followers of Christ for it. We are among his greatest nightmares because he knows he cannot limit our influence unless he can neutralize our respective natures.
Satan knows this, and he hates followers of Christ for it. We are among his greatest nightmares because he knows he cannot limit our influence unless he can neutralize our respective natures.
Testimony.
