- All of the myriads of mortals who have been born on this earth chose the Father's plan and fought for it.
- In ways that have not been revealed, our actions in the spirit world influence us in mortality.
- "Without proper and successful marriage, one will never be exalted."
- Many of the most important deprivations of mortality will be set right in the Millennium, which is the time for fulfilling all that is incomplete in the great plan of happiness for all of our Father's worthy children.
- All councils in the Church should encourage free and open discussion by conferring with one another and striving to have clear, concise communication.
- Today, individuals and families need wise and inspired help from the Church to combat the evils of the world.
- In a recent council meeting with the presidencies of the women's auxiliaries, the sisters told me that very few women in the Church express any interest in wanting to hold the priesthood. But they do want to be heard and valued and want to make meaningful contributions to the stake or ward and its members that will serve the Lord and help accomplish the mission of the Church.
- Ideally, all members of any Church or any family council should share their concerns and should suggest solutions based on gospel principles.
- God never intended that His children should stand alone.
- The scriptures state clearly that while our respective callings may be different and may change from time to time, all callings are important to the operation of the Church.
- This is not man's work nor woman's work; it is all God's work, which is centered on the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- First, focus on fundamentals.
- Second, focus on people.
- Third, promote free and open expression.
- Listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified."
- Fourth, participation is a privilege.
- Fifth, lead with love.
- Priesthood is for service, not servitude; compassion, not compulsion; caring, not control. those who think otherwise are operating outside the parameters of priesthood authority.
- Wards are not designed to replace the family unit, but to support the family and its righteous teachings. A ward is another place where there is enough commitment and energy to form a sort of "safety net" family for each of us when our families cannot or do not provide all of the teaching and growing experiences we need to return to Heavenly Father.
- First, ward families provide a sense of belonging.
- Overcome your natural timidity and greet as many people as you can be name each week.
- Next, ward families provide the reassurance of listening ears.
- Someone has said that people would rather be understood than be loved. In truth, the surest way to increase our love for someone is to listen with patience and respect.
- We discover and develop our thoughts through conversation. Talking itself is a sorting and learning process. We feel such comfort when others listen with the understanding that our words are not our final statement, but a wondering and wandering process used to reach a clearer understanding.
- Mutual murmuring is a smoldering fire that can burst into flame and destroy a ward.
- Third, ward families provide encouragement.
- I don't know how you will get through this, but I am confident that you can.
- Positive reinforcement changes behavior for the better, while criticism stabilizes negative behaviors and blocks change.
- "What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?"
- Ward families are a refuge.
- Ward families provide ways for us to contribute.
- Ward families provide a laboratory to learn and practice the gospel.
- Love whatever war you are in--participate in it, enjoy it, learn from it.
- Often it is the work and sacrifice one experiences in obtaining money for a worthwhile purpose that produces the most satisfaction.
- "Happiness does not always require success, prosperity or attainment. It is often the joy of hopeful struggle, consecration of purpose and energy to some good end. Real happiness ever has its root in unselfishness--its blossom in love of some kind."
- One of the most critical challenges mankind faces today is to recognize the difference between happiness and mere pleasure.
- "If you won't hear, then you'll have to feel."
- If we would all listen more, it would not be necessary to have to feel so often in that sense.
- "True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a barbed sting, which, like a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present source of anguish.
- "Return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you."
- The Lord's gift of forgiveness, however, is not complete until it is accepted. True and complete repentance is a process by which we may become reconciled with God ad accept the divine gift of forgiveness.
- I know in whom I have trusted.
- Cease to do evil.
- Learn to do well.
- "You must ... see that .. searching the scriptures is not a burden laid upon [us] by the Lord, but a marvelous blessing and opportunity."
- Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances. A true principle makes decisions clear even under the most confusing and compelling circumstances.
- To acquire spiritual knowledge and to obey it with wisdom, one must:
- In humility, seek divine light.
- Exercise faith in Jesus Christ.
- Hearken to His counsel.
- Keep His commandments.
- As spiritual knowledge unfolds, it must be understood, valued, obeyed, remembered, and expanded.
- "From my boyhood I have desired to learn the principles of the gospel in such a way ... that it would matter not to me who might fall from the truth, ... my foundation would be ... certain in the truths ... I have learned."
- Seek divine light.
- "Put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good--yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.
- "I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;
- "And ... by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive."
- Humility is essential to the acquiring of spiritual knowledge. to be humble is to be teachable. Humility permits you to be tutored by the Spirit and to be taught from sources inspired by the Lord, such as the scriptures. The seeds of personal growth and understanding germinate and flourish in the fertile soil of humility. Their fruit is spiritual knowledge to guide you here and hereafter.
- A proud individual cannot know the things of the Spirit.
- Since it requires much personal effort to gain and use worthwhile knowledge, you cannot endlessly sample from every fascinating arena of life. Therefore, you should select carefully a few vital areas where you can focus energy to learn and share vital truths. I know that to gain knowledge of great worth requires extraordinary personal effort.
- Spiritual knowledge is not available merely for the asking; even prayers are not enough. It takes persistence and dedication of one's life. ... Of all reassures of knowledge, the most vital is the knowledge of God."
M. Russell Ballard -Equality through Diversity
- Our Father in Heaven loves all of His children equally, perfectly, and infinitely. His love is no different for His daughters than for His sons. Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, also loves men an women equally. His atonement and His gospel are for all of God's children. During His earthly ministry Jesus served men an women alike: He healed both men and women and He taught both men and women.
- The gospel of Jesus Christ can sanctify both men and women in the same way and by identical principles.
- Even though men and women are equal before God in their eternal opportunities, they have different, but equally significant, duties in His eternal plan. We must understand that God views all of His children with infinite wisdom and perfect fairness. Consequently, He can acknowledge and even encourage our differences while providing equal opportunity for growth and development.
- Both men and women are to serve their families and others, but the specific ways in which they do so are sometimes different. For example, God has revealed through his prophets that men are to receive the priesthood, become fathers, and with gentleness and pure, unfeigned love they are to lead and nurture their families in righteousness as the Savior leads the Church. They have been given the primary responsibility for the temporal and physical needs of the family. Women have the power to bring children into the world and have been given the primary duty and opportunity as mothers to lead, nurture, and teach them in a loving, spiritual environment. In this divine partnership, husbands and wives support one another in their God-given capacities. By appointing different accountability's to men and women, Heavenly Father provides the greatest opportunity for growth, service, and progress. He did not give different tasks to men and women simply to perpetuate the idea of a family; rather, he did so to ensure that the family can continue forever, the ultimate goal of our Heavenly Father's eternal plan.
- Let us not judge others, because we do not know their situation nor do we know what common sense and personal revelation have led them to do.
- Ideally, the Church and the family do not inhibit our progress. They expedite it by putting our feet firmly on the gospel path that leads us back God.
- Personal revelation is personal, indeed. It is not based on gender or position but on worthiness. It comes in response to sincere inquiry. However, revelation for the Church comes only through the lord's prophets, seers, and revelators.
- First, focus on the fundamentals.
- Second, maintain balance.
- Remember that most things have been put into place by God and simply are not subject to change.
- This is God's plan; we do not have the prerogative to alter or tamper with it.
- Third, reach out to one another with love, for "charity never faileth."
- Never forget that the Lord may work a miracle in their lives through you.
- We knew that women struggling to clarify their identities could best do that not by comparing themselves to other women but by understanding their important place as full and equal partners with men in receiving, in righteousness, the saving ordinances established by Christ.
- We would not try to describe an ideal Mormon woman. We would seek instead to teach that Christ is our model and that as we are filled with his love, we are his disciples.
- Whether you belong to a long-established ward or a struggling branch, what you bring to the work as a participating member will greatly affect what happens to you and to the others around you. Teaching and saving souls, seeing that "none is neglected," is a great cause. This work calls on us all and calls for our honest best.
- Love is not just good, it is essential to life.
- That's where strong families come from--from strong individuals.
- There is great diversity in LDS homes. But all of these homes can be righteous homes where individuals love each other, love the Lord, and strengthen each other.
- Strong families build strong individuals who, in turn, strengthen other family members. We take turns in lifting each other.
- I believe the strength we need can always be there because it comes form the Savior and his love. Sometimes our own faith enables us to draw on the love. Sometimes it is the faith and love of others that strengthen us.
- "With God nothing shall be impossible."
- "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
- "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen tee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
- "Seek the Lord and his strength ... continually."
- "Blessed is the man [or woman] whose strength is in thee. ... Go from strength to strength."
- Sisters, strengthen yourselves by seeking the source of true strength--the Savior. Come unto him. He loves you. He desires your happiness and exults in your desires for righteousness. make him your strength, your daily companion, your rod and your staff. Let him comfort you. There is no burden we need bear alone. His grace compensates for our deficiencies.
- Your strength will strengthen others--your children, your husband, your friends, and your sisters in the gospel. That strength will flow back from them to you when you need it.
- I did not need to be afraid.
- Motherhood entails difficult decisions.
- "Some women, because of circumstances beyond their control, must work, We understand that. ... Do not, however, make the mistake of being drawn off into secondary tasks which will cause the neglect of your eternal assignments such as giving birth to and rearing the spirit children of our Father in Heaven. Pray carefully over all your decisions."
- When we have been honest with ourselves and humble before the Lord in decisions about work and in the myriad decisions involved in mothering, we can go forward with courage. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
- I have learned that we may almost always have too much to do.
- To accept the guidance of our Heavenly Father, through the scriptures and through his prophets, is a source of much strength and courage. We may not be able to do everything, but he will bless us in our efforts to do those things that he has asked us to do.
- God will give mothers guidance concerning the individual needs of their children.
- Even though we live in very difficult and challenging times, we are on the path to eternal life, and we cannot afford to be delayed or deterred.
- Indeed we stand before the world today to rejoice--not in the power of men and women--but in the goodness of God.
- Sisters, the time is past when we can merely believe. We must be passionate in our beliefs. Women hunger for things of the Spirit.
- "Lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better."
- We are women with spiritual strength!
- Remember that the spirit is not the same as self. The spirit is not enhanced by selfishness, self-pity, self-pride, and self-deception. "To be spiritually-minded is life eternal."
- Our spirituality is also recharged by each other. show charity for each other. Show understanding, not judgment; kindness, not blame; joy, not envy. love as the Lord loves.
- We are women with a sense of purpose!
- Sisters, turn to the Lord. He cares so deeply for our happiness and our well-being. Talk with him earnestly and often, and your answers will come.
- look at your priorities.
- For those who have young and growing children, they are our first priority. I am not speaking of maintenance, not the wash, not the windows. I am speaking of loving our children and teaching them righteous principles.
- We are women of commitment!
- We are women who know the blessings of the priesthood.
- Now, once again, may I say, "Ponder the path of thy feet." Look to the Lord for direction and guidance.
- We see evidences of increasing ethnic strife and hatred. Nationalism seems to be taking priority over brotherly love.
- Religion must shoulder greater responsibility in healing the spiritual sickness that engulfs our globe.
- Human nature cannot be changed by reforming public policy; that kind of change comes by exposing the human mind and heart to the transforming teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- We regard a saint as a believer in Christ, one who knows of His perfect love and who strives to live in accord with His commandments. The term connotes a high level of commitment to following the Savior.
- "The Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word."
- Our origins did not spring from protest of any kind; hence, we are not a Protestant denomination. Rather, we understand that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, established, as the Apostle Paul once declared, "upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone."
- Sincere study of the Book of Mormon transforms the spirit and engenders a testimony of Jesus Christ that heals the spiritual hearts of men and women throughout the world.
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
Involved dogs....I was getting stuff from our trailblazer and there was this mail woman who was trying to take my dog pepper from me because she was tied up in the back corner of the truck. I took her from the woman and left only to have her horse come after me and nip me constantly on my bottom and running into the home didn't stop the horse from following me inside. EeEoowww!!
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
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