April 1991 General Conference Sunday Morning

An early Monday Morning came upon me all too quickly, but like most mornings, they quickly become afternoons, but as it was morning when I woke up. Here are some highlights from a Morning conference! :)

Thomas S. Monson -Never Alone

• A scene on the cruel desert sands--and a sentence uttered from the heart--spoke volumes. An American soldier looked down at his vanquished enemy prisoner, touched the man's shoulder, and reassured him with the words, "It's all right; it's all right."
• "Violence is not strength, and compassion is not weakness."
• "War leaves nothing but dead ends on the roads to all our fondest hopes and our brightest dreams."

Howard W. Hunter -The Sixth Day of April, 1830

• "Brother Joseph you did not ask me to cross the river with you--you did not ask me to come to Carthage--you did not ask me to come to jail with you--and do you think I would forsake you now? But I will tell you what I will do; if you are condemned to be hung for treason, I will be hung in your stead, and you shall go free."
• He is undoubtedly more than we can fully understand him to be, but he is certainly not less than we understand.

Henry B. Eyring -To Draw Closer to God

• "Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us."
• We need to feel now that God knows us and loves us as individuals.
• "Behold, canst thou read this without rejoicing and lifting up thy heart for gladness?"
• You and I need to listen with great care.
• You will listen best when you feel, "Father, thy will, not mine, be done." You will have a feeling of "I want what you want."
• You will act after you have listened because when you hear his voice by the Spirit you will always feel that you are impelled to do something. You mustn't be surprised if the instruction seems accompanied with what you feel as a rebuke.

James E. Faust -A Crown of Thorns, A Crown of Glory

• If we do not promptly remove the slivers of sin and the thorns of carnal temptation, how can the Lord ever heal our souls?
• There is a defense mechanism to discern between good and evil. It is called conscience. It is our spirit's natural response to the pain of sin, just like pain in our flesh is our body's natural response to a wound--even a small sliver. Conscience strengthens through use.
• A sensitive conscience is a sign of a healthy spirit.
• Too often we seek bandages to cover the guilt rather than removal of the thorn causing the pain. How much we resist the momentary pain of removing a sliver, even though it will relieve the longer-lasting pain of a festering sore.
• Thorns signified God's displeasure as He cursed the ground for Adam's sake that henceforth it would bring forth thorns. But by wearing the crown, Jesus transformed thorns into a symbol of His glory.
• It is not easy to remove the thorns of pride, the thistles of selfishness, the slivers of ego, and the briars of appetite.
• I would challenge all to put the thorns, slivers, and thistles we encounter in life in proper perspective. We should deal with them but then concentrate on the flowers of life, not on the thorns.
• We will all surely encounter some of the thorns, but they are only incidental to the sweet fragrances and exquisite beauty of the blooms.
• Selfishness can make what we think is a noble crown into a crown of thorns beyond our power to endure.

Gordon B. Hinckely -What God Hath Joined Together

• The sweetest feelings of life, the most generous and satisfying impulses of the human heart, find expression in a marriage that stands pure and unsullied above the evil of the world.
• "Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed."
• I am satisfied that a happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one's companion.
• Selfishness is the antithesis of love. It is a cankering expression of greed. It destroys self-discipline. It obliterates loyalty. It tears up sacred covenants. It afflicts both men and women.
• "I remember looking through tears toward the sky, and I said, 'Oh, my Father, I just can't do it tonight. I'm too tired. I can't face it. I can't go home and take care of all those children alone. Could I just come to You and stay with You for just one night? I'll come back in the morning.' "I didn't really hear the words of reply, but I heard them in my mind. The answer was, 'No, little one, you can't come to me now. You would never wish to come back. But I can come to you.'"
• Marriage is beautiful when beauty is looked for and cultivated. It can be ugly and uncomfortable when one is looking for faults and is blinded to virtue.
• But I say without hesitation that this plague among us, which seems to be growing everywhere, is not of God, but rather is the work of the adversary of righteousness and peace and truth.
• You need not be his [Satan's] victims. You can rise above his wiles and entreaties.

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

I had just come off a mountain trail driving in my SUV and I was at a cabin with others, when we had to leave suddenly. A guy came in with a gun and he was threatening to shoot us all, but I slipped out the back and got into my car with some others and went speeding off up to the mountain trail. I had a choice of going left or right. I wanted to go left, but everyone else said that we should go right. So I went right and up the ramp -made out of steel that was chain linked looking and up into the mountain. I knew this wasn't a good idea to go up here the trail was slick and unstable for the car. If we'd gone the other way it would have been better, but this way...we ended up getting stuck up in the mountains in a tent as it snowed all around us when...

the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D